Contest Wars
by Demongirl123
Summary: AU: A young girl moves from the newly discovered Neo Region to Las Vegas in America. There she meets new friends/Pokémon Trainers who then travel with her all over the world to compete in contests. Contains OCs, Canon/OC pairings, original Pokémon, as well as ones based on Yu-Gi-Oh monsters and anime-only Pokémon characters. Rated M for language and sexual content.
1. Summary

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokémon. I just own the story and the other characters.

**NOTES:** This story contains harsh language as well as some sexual content at times. (This does not mean in every chapter.) Also, the characters based off of the ones from "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters" have some minor to major OOC-ness, meaning their personality may not be EXACTLY the same. That is why it is called a FANfiction, not a FACTfiction. So if you want to flame for that reason, the Home button is on the top left…GO TO IT AND MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE and let people who actually might enjoy this do as they please. Thank you!

**SUMMARY:** Mikey Coppertino, a young 15-year-old from a faraway Pokemon region known as Neo, moves to the city of Las Vegas in Nevada, United States. There she meets new friends and catches many Pokemon and enters competitions known as "Pokemon Contests" where she lives her dreams of being a Pokemon Coordinator like her parents once were. However, several obstacles stand in her way like an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who is trying to find out his past, a tycoon of her family's rival company who and his sister are also after the same goal of becoming #1 Coordinator, and other trainers who are more than meets the eye. Join Mikey and her friends in their exciting adventures from the city that never sleeps in this side-quel to Pokemon Academy.


	2. Pilot

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you.

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokémon cries/speech

_Italic_: thinking

**Bold: **narration

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**Pilot**

* * *

**Prologue (the story of ****Pokémon****):** **Many millennia ago, the universe is said to have been created by a great being. After it created the galaxies, worlds, and creatures, it created a horse-like manifestation. **The aforementioned creature floated through the dark plains of the universe, its golden plate surrounding its body glowing 18 different colors as it circled one planet…Earth. **This other creature created hundreds if not thousands of creatures later to be known as ****Pokémon****. This particular ****Pokémon**** was known as Arceus the "Original One". It was the first of its kind. **

Arceus landed on the empty planet. Its plate glowed again creating a giant red behemoth that used its flames to combine with the water from that of another blue Pokémon. Thus land and sea were born. **Before that event however, Arceus gave birth to two eggs. One hatched into three fairies: a yellow, pink, and blue one representing that of human and animal knowledge, emotion, and willpower. The second hatched into three dragons: one pink controlled space, one blue controlled time, and the other gold and gray stayed in the shadows of its own world.**

Arceus floated to different regions of the world and created two birds that were named guardians of its towers. The white bird bred three elemental birds, while after one of the towers were destroyed, the rainbow colored bird created three felines that represent the events of the burned down tower, due to its rivalry with the other. **Thus the rivalry of certain ****Pokémon**** was born and Arceus continued to try to fix his so-called "mistakes" by forming more creatures. These next three being made during different ages: The Stone, Ice, and Iron Ages. It also created ****Pokémon**** to parallel that of the moon and dreams. And after awhile, after humans were created, they started making their own ****Pokémon****. Arceus finally created a ****Pokémon**** for the New Age, to protect the volcanoes, and many ****Pokémon**** were created as "phantoms". **

Thousands of years later, the deity went into solitude after making more Pokémon and stayed there to this very day. **Arceus then returned to whence it came, never to be heard from again. Meanwhile, wars broke out using various types of weapons and even the very ****Pokémon**** that it created. This is the start of what the future will hold.**

* * *

It was a gorgeous afternoon in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA as a light green car was driving across the highway. In this car were three passengers. One was a black haired, blue eyed, middle-aged man who was actually the driver of it. Next to him was a woman not much younger than him who had long, milk chocolate-colored brown hair and light green eyes. She looked out at the road as her husband drove the car. The final person in the car was a teenage girl with long, light brown hair and green eyes. She was sitting there bored.

"Are we there yet?" The teenager whined. The car that they were in suddenly stopped.

"We are now, sweetie." The driver smiled looking back at his daughter.

"Sweet!" she opened the door and went to the trunk of the car. "So who gets what?" She stood there waiting as her parents walked up to her.

"Calm down, Mikey. I know you're excited but we really need to know if we have everything." Her mother told her, opening the trunk that was unlocked. "Frank, we have four bags here." She said, holding one.

"Ok, I'll help get two more and Mike, you get one more." Frank said, holding a red and white ball in his hand. "Electivire, go!" He tossed the ball and out emerged a humanoid creature covered in yellow fur with black stripes and five black fingers on each of its hands and it had two black tails that each had a red tip, and black feet with three toes in the front. As it came out if its ball in a white light, it let out a surge of electricity. "Electivire, could you please carry these two bags into the building?"

"Dad, why are you being lazy?" Mikey asked her father, crossing her arms.

"Because, I have to unlock the door and hold it open for you," he walked to the huge building in front of them and unlocked it with a key. He and Electivire entered the house and later Mikey and her mother - known as Terry - followed with the rest of the suitcases.

"Wow, this place is really big." Mikey said, looking around the interior. "When is the rest of our stuff getting here?" She sat on the sofa near the door.

"I don't know, Mike, probably sometime this week. I made sure everything was to be sent here as soon as possible." Her father replied, walking over to the other couch and sitting down.

Terry came out of the dining room and smiled.

"I like it." She said. "It's very homey." a gray feline, with a curled, spring-shaped tail and a white fluff at the tip of it climbed up to her shoulder, "Oh, hi Glameow."

"_Glam-neow!_" it meowed and jumped onto the couch next to Mikey and purred.

"Good Glameow." Mikey patted its crescent shaped head as she continued to purr with her head on the brunette's lap.

"Mikey, why don't you go to your room and unpack your things, your mother and I will go out to get something to eat for dinner." Her father said holding the keys to his car. The couple went to the door. Frank turned to face his daughter again. "Oh, one more thing, do not go outside until we get home. Do you understand?"

"Uh, yeah I think." She answered still holding Glameow. Her parents left and locked the door behind them. "Ok, Glammy, I have to go organize my room." She picked up the red suitcase and took it upstairs with her to her room which was to the far end of the second floor. "Damn, I cannot get over how big this place is." She opened the door to her new room and was amazed at what she saw. There was a queen-sized bed against the right wall with red sheets, red curtains hanging from the window which was to the left of the bed, and a television next to the door, as well as a closet next to that. "This is so nice."

* * *

A few minutes later, she was all unpacked and everything was put in their proper place. She looked up and saw Glameow and a pale green sauropod with a dark green leaf and a necklace of buds, on the windowsill. "Hey, whatcha guys looking at?" she patted Glameow on the head and looked out the window. A boy with spiky pink and black hair with blond bangs and purple eyes sat in front of another house across the street. Running around the pavement in front of him was an echidna-like Pokémon with blue fur on top and milky skin on its underbelly. "It's a Pokémon Trainer!" Mikey exclaimed in joy as she ran for the stairs. The two Pokémon in the window looked at each other confused and followed.

Downstairs, she headed for the door but stopped when she remembered what her father told her. "Shit, I forgot. I can't go outside for some strange reason until they get back." She scoffed and unlocked the door. "I'll just be a moment, besides I'm not a little kid anymore. I think I'm old enough to take care of myself across the street." The door opened and Mikey walked across the street with the two Pokémon not far behind.

The boy looked at her and his Pokémon stopped running to also have a look.

"Hello, do you need something?" He asked in a gently toned voice. The Pokémon walked up to her and sniffed her with its long nose. "Cindy, don't be rude." He told his Pokémon.

"Oh she's not bothering me." She smiled. "No, I just moved here and got curious when I saw another Pokémon Trainer, so I came over."

The boy smiled back and stood up. "Oh cool." He walked up to her and held out his hand. "I'm Yugi Moto, nice to meet you."

Mikey softly grabbed his hand and shook it, "name's Mikey Coppertino."

Yugi let go and looked behind her at her house.

"Did you say your last name was Coppertino?" He asked still looking at it.

"Yes, why?" she looked at him puzzled.

"Because your family's well known around these parts of town, you guys are like maybe the second to third richest people in the country." Yugi told her, picking up his Cyndaquil.

"Rich?" She had no idea what he was talking about.

Yugi looked at the two Pokémon next to her feet.

"Nice Glameow and Chikorita," he smiled.

The other trainer looked down at them.

"Oh thanks." She looked back at him. "The Glameow is my mom's and Herben is my Chikorita."

"Herben huh?" the blond smiled. "Cool name, suits him."

"Thanks, I thought so." Yugi sat down on the small stair in front of his house. "Wow, your place looks cool too."

Yugi looked up.

"Oh that's because my family runs a game shop." He told her.

"Neat-o, I wish I had a shop in my house."

"Yeah, it's alright. Hey you wanna come inside?" He stood up and held his Pokémon.

"Really, can I?" Mikey asked, excitedly.

Yugi smiled back brightly. "Of course, I'm sure my grandpa wouldn't mind. I bring friends over all the time."

Mikey looked down at Glameow, who was tugging on the human's leg and shaking her head, "What's the matter girl? Oh wait, I can't. I uh, I have to get home before my parents come back."

Yugi frowned.

"Aww, you sure?" he asked her.

"Yeah sorry Yugi," she then thought for a second. "Hey Glameow, could you go back to the house and tell mom and dad where I'm at when they get back?" Glameow looked at her then ran back to the house and slipped under the pet door. She looked at Yugi. "Problem solved."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to get in trouble with your parents because of me." He looked at her seriously.

"No, it's okay. Come on." She walked next to him.

"Oh Ok," he opened the door. "You go first."

"Thanks." She and Herben slowly went inside.

The other teen stood next to her.

"Come on, don't be shy. My grandpa won't bite and my mom is out for a couple of hours." He laughed and walked past the counter and into the living room area. Mikey followed. "Grandpa, I'm home." He took his backpack off and tossed it onto the couch.

"Yugi is that you?" came a voice from the kitchen.

He looked toward the room. "Yes, it's me. I brought a friend over if that's alright." His Cyndaquil leaped onto the couch and motioned Mikey to sit down with her.

"Oh really, who?" out of the kitchen came an elderly man a few inches taller than Yugi who had gray spiked hair, similar to Yugi's only his was mostly covered with a black bandana. He looked at Mikey, "and who is this young lady?" He asked walking closer to the couch.

"Oh that's Mikey. She just moved in across the street." Yugi told him walking into the kitchen.

"You mean to tell me you live with that Coppertino family?" Grandpa Moto asked as he sat down on the couch across from Mikey.

"Yes, I'm actually one of them." She said holding her Chikorita.

Yugi walked back into the living room holding a bottle of water.

"You mean you knew they were coming here, gramps?" He drank a little from his bottle.

"Well, I know several things about that family, including its members," he got up to get a closer look at Mikey, "but I never even heard of a Mikey Coppertino before."

"I'm Frank and Terry Coppertino's daughter." She told him tensing up a bit.

"There are four of you?" Both Motos asked, surprised.

"Um, well yeah as far as I and my parents know of." She grinned. "Why?"

The younger Moto sat next to her.

"It's just everyone only knows of three daughters, not four." He told her, giving his Cyndaquil some of his water.

"Really?" she asked a little upset, but not a whole lot. Both nodded. _Damn._ She thought to herself. _Maybe it WAS a bad idea to come here after all._ She then looked down.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yugi asked her.

Mikey stood up. "Yeah, I'm okay but I really better get going."

"Hey wait, hold on." The blond stood up.

Mikey looked at him, "yeah?"

"Wanna have a quick battle before you go?" He smiled trying to cheer her up.

"Well sure Yugi," she smiled.

Yugi smiled back. "Perfect, let's go to the backyard." He and Cindy walked to the backyard door through the kitchen and went outside.

* * *

The yard wasn't very big. It was just the right size for battles. Yugi stood at one end and Mikey across from him. "Ready Mikey?" he asked and winked at her.

"You bet I am." She looked at her grass Pokémon. "Ready Herben?" the Pokémon nodded.

"Alright, go Cindy!" The fire mouse Pokémon jumped in front of her trainer and flames ignited on her back.

_Uh-oh, I forgot that he was going to use his Cyndaquil. Oh well I'm still gonna win even if Herben is a Grass-type._ "Herben, go Tackle!" The tiny leaf Pokémon charged toward Cindyl.

"Cindy, tackle him back." Yugi called to his Pokémon. The fire mouse charged also and the two Pokémon collided into each other. They then began to push the other away with their heads.

"Herben, Growl!" The grass Pokémon opened its mouth and let out a growl which caused his opponent to recoil backwards. "Now, tackle again." Herben rammed into the other Pokémon and she fell on her stomach.

"Come on Cindy, you can win this battle!" The other trainer encouraged his Pokémon to keep battling. She then stood up.

Mikey looked at them shocked. "Man that was fast." She looked at Herben. "Go, Razor Leaf!" The green dinosaur jumped into the air and swung the leaf on his head causing an extra, sharp one to fly off toward Cindy.

"Cindy, Smokescreen!" The echidna sprayed thick smoke from her mouth and blinded Herben's vision, causing Cindy to easily dodge Razor Leaf. "Take him down with Flame Wheel!" The spiky-headed trainer called to his Pokémon. Cindy's body then erupted into flames and she charged into the still immobilized Grass-type. Herben slammed onto the ground with severe burn marks on him.

"Herben!" Mikey ran to her Pokémon and picked him up. "Are you okay? Say something?" The little green Pokémon mumbled softly with his eyes closed.

Yugi ran to her side with Cindy.

"Is he okay?" He asked, frowning. "Here, let me take him inside." Mikey slipped him into Yugi's arms and the trainers went back into the house.

* * *

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

"Grandpa, can you get that please?" Yugi was in the kitchen with the still burned Chikorita lying on the kitchen table with a first-aid kit next to him and Mikey sitting at the table.

"Will he be okay?" Mikey asked, softly, worried about her dear Pokémon.

Yugi looked at her.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He just needs to take it easy for awhile and he'll be back to his old self." Yugi wrapped a bandage over the tiny leaf's head and smiled at him. "There, and I sprayed some Burn Heal on him so those burns should be all gone." He said handing him to her.

"Thanks, Yugi." She smiled and looked at her Pokémon. "I'm sorry Herben. I should have realized this would happen to you. I mean she was a fire Pokémon and you're a grass-"

"No, you did pretty well actually." Yugi told her.

"You think?" The blond nodded. "Thanks." Mikey smiled. Yugi's grandpa then came into the room with Mikey's parents. Mikey and Yugi looked at them. "Uh-Oh…" She stood up.

"What did I say about leaving the house until we got back home, Mikey?" Frank asked looking at her sternly. Her mother just looked at her silently.

"Not to leave until you got back…" She walked up to them.

"Well I guess it's alright since you didn't get hurt and were smart to come to the Motos." He looked at Yugi, who continued to look at him. "Thanks for taking care of her while we were gone." He told Yugi's grandfather.

"It was no problem really. Your daughter is a very sweet young woman and was very nice to Yugi." He smiled at her.

Mikey smiled back.

"Thanks for having me over guys." She told them. "And Yugi," she walked up to him.

He looked at her, "yeah?"

Mikey put down Herben and hugged Yugi. She let go and smiled. "Thanks for making Herben feel better." Herben nodded.

Yugi blushed a little. "Sure thing, Mikey, it's the least I could do." He winked.

Mikey giggled and went back to her parents' side with Herben.

"See you later Yugi. Bye Mr. Moto." She waved to them.

"Bye Solomon." Frank told Yugi's grandfather and the three Coppertinos left the house.

* * *

That night, Mikey was lying in her bed with Herben sleeping next to her. There was a knock at her door.

"Come in." She said, sitting up. The door opened and her father entered. "Hey daddy, what is it?"

He sat on the bed next to her.

"You know, you shouldn't have done that today." He told her.

His daughter looked down. "I know, I guess I was just excited to meet someone and I couldn't just stay locked up in the house."

He patted her on the shoulder. "I know. At least you didn't get hurt." He stood up and looked at her. "Oh by the way, I went to a high school today and I registered you. We're going tomorrow. Is that okay? I already bought whatever supplies you'll need."

Mikey smiled, "sounds good daddy." Her father kissed her forehead and walked to the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Mikey." He shut the light and closed the door behind him. Mikey lied back down and went to sleep, cuddling her Chikorita.

**To be continued...**


	3. What's in a Name?

**A/N: **Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. Also, this chapter is way longer than the last…I needed to fit everything I wanted in one chapter…Also, please do not be offended by the language that appears in this one and future chapters. It is rated M for a reason and stuff like this (what and how people treat one another) is in the real world...So if you KNOW you're going to be offended, please go back now...

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon cries/speech

_Italic_: thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**What's in a Name?**

* * *

It was a nice warm morning in the city of Las Vegas and today was the day Mikey starts her first day at a new school. At her house, the young Pokémon Trainer was sleeping soundly as her Chikorita looked at her. He began tugging on her arm to wake her up.

"_Chika, chika,_" he said, still pulling. The girl didn't move at all. "_Chi-ka!_" the tiny leaf Pokémon released two vines from his petal necklace and whipped his trainer in the back. Mikey screamed and sat up rubbing her back.

"Ow, Herben, that really hurt." She looked down at her Pokémon. "What's wrong? Why did you wake me up at…" She turned to her clock on a little desk next to her bed. "7AM?" Herben jumped off the bed, went under it, and later came back out pulling a red schoolbag. "Oh crap, I forgot about today." She hurried out of bed, went outside, and next to her bedroom to take a shower in the bathroom.

* * *

"I told you she'd forget." Frank said from downstairs as he looked up, from the paper he was reading, at his wife.

"Yeah I know." She sat down with a cup of tea. "Do you think she'll be okay?" Glameow jumped on top of the table. Frank put the newspaper down and stood up.

"Sure she will. She needs to hurry up though; I start work at Coppertino Industries." He told her as he looked at the watch on his wrist.

* * *

A few minutes later, at around 7:15AM, Mikey came running down the stairs holding her backpack. "Ready daddy?" she asked, smiling, waiting for him at the door. Her father walked up to her and looked at her.

"Okay Mike, let's go." He opened the door.

"Bye mom." She called to her mother who was sitting on the couch with her catty Pokémon.

"Bye sweetie and be careful."

Mikey smiled at her.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." She and her father left the house and walked to the car.

* * *

During the drive to the school, Frank looked at his daughter who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Mikey, I need to ask for a very important favor." He said in a serious tone. Mikey looked at him as he looked back at the road. "I need you to use a different last name here." He pulled out an ID card and handed it to her. It had her picture on it but with the last name 'Capone'.

"Why do I need to change my name?" She looked at the card then at him. "You know this whole secret thing isn't doing well for my sanity. I mean come on, first I found out from someone else that I'm part of this aristocratic family and now I have to change my last name? Why?"

"Mikey, listen, there are people here that will seriously judge you just because of your name and I want you to have a normal life."

Mikey sighed, "But, my school records and stuff have my last name as Coppertino."

"That's okay, the only ones who will know about your real last name here is the representative who will register you, the Motos of course, and us. That is it. If anyone else finds out, make sure I know who they are and that it was absolutely necessary. Understand?" The car finally made it to the school. Frank undid his seat belt. "Come on." He opened the door and got out, with Mikey right behind him.

* * *

Inside the school, the Coppertinos were now in the registry office. The woman behind the desk looked at Mikey's papers and then at her and her father. "So let me see if I got this right, you want your daughter to be protected by having her last name changed?" Frank nodded. "How is that going to prevent any harm done to her?"

"Miss, you have to understand that Mikey here is the ONLY one of my daughters who is not known to the general public. You must also understand that my family has a bad reputation because of my other daughters' bad behavior. Mikey is the only one I have raised that hasn't been - how should I say this - a psychotic bitch." The representative looked at him then at Mikey.

"I see and fair enough. I will make up a schedule of classes for her right away, as well as get someone down here that can show her around." She got up from her chair and walked up to Mikey, who stood up when she came over. "Welcome to Las Vegas High School, Mikey." She shook her hand.

"Thank you." She smiled. The lady let go and looked at Frank.

"Mr. Coppertino, if you don't mind, could you please leave so I can send someone to show Mikey to her classes?"

Frank nodded and put a hand on his daughter shoulder.

"See you at home, Mike." He smiled and walked to the door. "Call me when everything is situated. You have my number." He told the staff member.

"Yes of course, sir." He left and Mikey looked back at her. "Mikey, I'll get somebody now. Here are your things along with your schedule and locker number." She and Mikey sat back in their chairs and the rep picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Jeff? This is Kathy; could you send Mr. Taylor down to my office? I need him to show a new student around." Mikey looked at her as she talked on the phone. "Ok, thank you." She hung up. "Someone will be down here to take you to your classes now. He is in every one of your classes so you should be okay."

* * *

A couple minutes later, a boy with pointy brown hair and brown eyes walked into the room. "You wanted to see me, Ms. Smith?" He asked.

Ms. Smith looked at him.

"Yes, Tristan could you show Miss Capone here to her classes? She has all of the same ones you do."

Tristan looked at Mikey and smiled.

"Hey there. I guess we better get going huh?"

Mikey smiled and got up from her seat.

"Sure. Let's go." She walked out of the room.

The other teen looked at her.

"Wait, I'm the guide remember?" He left behind her.

After the two students left, Ms. Smith took out her cell phone and called Mikey's father.

"Everything is situated Mr. Coppertino." She said her mood and tone changing. Frank's voice could be heard on the other end.

"Good, now you're going to make sure she doesn't interact with any of THEM right?"

Ms. Smith looked at her computer.

"Well with only a limited amount of classes here, she is going to be in one class with him."

Frank, in his car, slapped the steering wheel.

"Are you serious? I told you before not to put her anyplace with either of the Kaibas. What do you think I'm paying you for?" He yelled.

"I'm sorry sir, it's only one class. I'm sure she'll be fine if she doesn't notice them and-"

"She might be curious if she knows that their Pokémon Trainers and especially that Phoebe Kaiba might want to be friends with her! Did you even think of that, you moron?"

"I did, but don't worry, she'll be fine and-"

"She better or you're out of the job!" Frank yelled at her again and then hung up.

Ms. Smith closed her phone and sighed.

"I knew I shouldn't have taken this job, but I need the money. Oh well, I just have to hope Ms. Coppertino doesn't speak to them or I'm fired."

* * *

Meanwhile, Mikey and Tristan were walking to their first class together. They had already found Mikey's locker and now they just needed to get to class.

"Man, I hope we make it before we're late. Sorry for taking so long to find your locker, Mikey." Tristan told her as they walked.

"It's okay." She smiled. "It's only my 1st day so I shouldn't get that much of a punishment. You shouldn't either since you were nice enough to help." Tristan rubbed the back of his head.

The two made it to a classroom with room "2-B" written on the top of the door.

* * *

In that room, many students were chatting or playing around with each other. One boy with long blond hair and brown eyes was rubbing the moist, black and brown shell of a light green turtle Pokémon with a yellow jaw line and feet, and a miniature twig with two tiny leaves attached to it. The turtle was lying on his desk asleep. The other student next to him that had dark skin, black hair and light brown eyes also had a small, light blue, rabbit-based Pokémon with large ears, whiskers and front teeth, on her desk. It also had spines on its back. The blond looked over at the African American girl.

"Where the hell is Tristan already? It's almost 8:05." The turtle on his desk stirred in its sleep.

"Joey, he'll be here." The girl looked behind her and sitting in the seat right behind Joey was Yugi. "How long do you think it takes to fetch a new kid, Yuge?" She asked the spiky-headed boy who was looking at his math book.

"I don't know." He said, not looking up from his book. Joey turned around and slammed shut the book Yugi was looking at. "What the hell man, I was studying."

"Yugi, we don't have that lame-ass test 'til the end of the week. Why do you need to study so much?" The blond asked, playing with the outer cover of the book.

"Because he doesn't want to be a stupid dumbass like you, Wheeler, who fails almost every exam given," came a voice at a desk by the windows to the left of them. Joey angrily looked at the boy with medium length brown hair and blue eyes that sat at that desk, who was looking back at him.

"Don't you have something better to do than insult me, dickhead?"

The girl next to him slapped him hard in the head.

"What the hell Joey that was not called for."

Joey looked at her rubbing his head.

"Damn, Shanice, why you defending that jerk?"

"I'm not. I'm just saying that was a bad insult." She said.

Yugi nodded.

"Fine, whatever," Joey turned back to his Pokémon. The brunet, blue eyed boy snickered. Joey growled to himself while still facing his turtle.

"Joey, just ignore him." Yugi tried to calm his friend down.

"I try, pal but you know-Tristan!"

Shanice and Yugi looked up front and saw Tristan and Mikey walk in. Tristan looked at them.

"Hey Joe, what's up?" He turned to Mikey and motioned for her to go see the teacher. She went over to his desk and Tristan headed toward Joey.

"Where the hell have you been boy?" Joey asked standing up and gently punching him in the arm.

"I was just showing a new student around that's all. I found out she has all the same classes I do, so I'm going to show her around and stuff."

Joey looked at him. "It's a chick?"

Tristan looked at him oddly. "Oh boy, don't tell me you plan on flirting?"

"I do not flirt, I court."

Tristan sat down in the desk in front of Joey's.

"That's the same thing Joey." Yugi said, opening his book again.

Joey scoffed.

"Mr. Wheeler, please sit down and for those of you with Pokémon, please put them away." The teacher said annoyed.

Joey and Shanice took out their Pokéballs.

"Right away teach." Joey said, sitting down and he and Shanice returned their Pokémon.

"Thank you." The teacher said looking at Joey. "Ok, class there is a new student joining us today. Please welcome Mikey Capone."

All the students looked at her and said hello.

"Damn, where'd she come from?" Joey whispered to Shanice.

"I don't know." She told him.

"I know that girl." Yugi added. "But, she had a different last name."

Joey looked at him.

"Shit dude, why didn't you say something?" He asked.

"You never asked." Yugi laughed a little.

"Mikey here is from the Neo region. So, you Pokémon fanatics out there should really find her interesting." The teacher said.

Mikey blushed shyly.

"Neo? Isn't that where pain-in-the-ass is from?" Joey asked Tristan.

"He sure is."

The blond sighed and sat back in his seat. "Man, I hope she isn't as bad."

"She isn't. I'm sure that's the same girl. I just have to find out why her last name is different." The spiky headed student told him.

"Why don't you go sit next to Yugi Moto?" The teacher told Mikey who looked down the line of seats and saw the familiar boy looking at her.

"Lucky," Joey mumbled under his breath.

Mikey walked to the seat next to Yugi, behind Shanice, and sat down.

"Hey Yugi, I didn't think you went here?" She asked, smiling.

"Yeah I do, but why is your last name Capone? I thought-"

"Hey beautiful," Joey interrupted his friend as he turned to look at Mikey.

"Um, hi?"

The blond laughed. "I'm Yugi's pal, Joey Wheeler. That's Shanice Lewis and you know Tristan Taylor."

Tristan looked at him and then looked back up front.

"So you're all friends?" The brunette teen asked. Yugi nodded. "Cool," She smiled. Joey and Shanice looked back up front as the teacher was giving instructions about a mediocre assignment. Mikey turned to her classmate. "By the way, I'll tell you later. Please, though, do not tell anyone my last name is really Coppertino. Ok?" She whispered.

"If that's what you really want." He smiled at her.

* * *

About an hour later, the school bell rang. "Alright, break time." Joey said happily as he tried to put his things away as quickly as possible.

"Joey, that's what lockers are for." Shanice told him standing up.

"Yeah, I know, but do you remember the last time?" He asked standing up.

"Good point," Mikey walked passed her. "Hey, Neo girl, we should hang sometime." She smiled

"Oh, sure, if you want," the brunette told her. She and Shanice left the room together. Mikey followed Tristan.

"Alright Yuge, let's go." Joey walked for the door, but tripped over someone's leg and fell on his face. Yugi ran up to him.

"You okay?" He asked, kneeling by his side.

"Maybe he should watch where he's going." The same brown haired, blue eyed teen from earlier told him, smirking.

"Kaiba, come on. That was not-" Joey quickly got up and looked at him.

"Damn it, rich boy, can't you for once stop fucking with me?" The blond hissed.

Kaiba laughed and walked away. Joey mumbled slurs to himself.

"Forget him Joey, he's not worth it." His friend said. "You okay?" The taller boy looked at his little buddy.

"Yeah, come on." The two left the room.

* * *

A few hours later, Mikey was outside the building for her free period after 4th. "Man, it's a long day. I wonder where Tristan went." She looked around. "Well, I guess it's cool to let Herben roam now." She took out her ball from her backpack and tossed it. Herben came out of it and yawned, "hey Herben."

"_Chikori,_" he smiled wagging his little tail. His trainer smiled.

"Why don't you go play, while I sit and relax?" The grass Pokémon nodded and ran off. Mikey went to sit at a nearby bench. "So far, keeping this secret isn't so bad." She sighed. "Still…" She then looked up and saw a girl a tad taller than her with long, darker brown hair, and icy blue eyes sitting at the bench a few feet down from the one she was sitting on. Lying on the ground next to her was a beautifully, bright colored white dragon, sleeping. "Wow!" Mikey got up and walked toward the girl and the dragon.

The other looked up from the book she was reading.

"Can I help you?" She asked. The dragon opened its teal-colored eyes and looked at her also.

"Uh, I was just um admiring your Pokémon." The girl looked next to her.

"Oh, that's just my brother's Bludragon (Bloo-dra-gon)."

Mikey looked at it astonished. "That's a Bludragon?"

The other nodded.

"She's a shiny version. That's why she's a diamond white hue like that." She stood up. "The name's Phoebe Kaiba."

"I'm Mikey…Capone, nice to meet you."

Phoebe smiled. "Say hi, Blue." The dragon roared softly. "She says 'hello'."

"How'd you know?"

The other brunette giggled. "It's a gift. I guess. I saw a Chikorita with you. Does that mean you too are a trainer?" Mikey nodded. "I have Pokémon of my own but I'm watching my brother's because he normally does things on his break."

"Hmm, that's cool." Herben ran up to her. "Oh hey Herben," she picked him up.

"So you named him Herben?" Phoebe smiled.

"Yup, I thought it was a pretty cute name for him." Herben jumped out of her arms and ran to Blue who swiftly stood up and backed away.

"Blue, it's okay. Mikey and Herben aren't going to bite." The darker-haired teen said, laughing.

"_You sure?_" she asked, speaking in plain English to Phoebe.

"Yup."

Mikey still couldn't believe it. "That is probably one of the best talents I have ever seen."

Phoebe looked at her. "It's just like understanding another language." The lighter-haired girl was still confused. "You'll understand eventually."

"Phoebe?" The girl in question turned around to see the same brunet from earlier who harassed Joey.

"Hey, Seto," she walked up to him as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Everything okay?" Seto asked looking at Blue.

The dragon crawled up to him and stood up. "_Hey Seto,_" the Pokémon purred as she rubbed her head against him.

Her trainer smirked then looked at Mikey. "So you're the new girl that I saw in 1st period?" He asked.

"Yeah, I believe I did see you there." Mikey told him as Herben jumped into her arms.

"Hmph," Kaiba just turned around and walked away.

The other trainer frowned. "Did I do something wrong?"

Phoebe shook her head. "No, he's just like that. Hey wanna hang out at our place?"

"I don't think your brother-"

"Oh don't worry about him. You won't even be IN the place, just right outside."

Mikey looked at her confused, "why though?"

"Cause I wanna battle you."

"Then why not just here?"

Phoebe laughed. "Cause, silly, my Pokémon are at home." She looked at her watch. "Besides we don't have time. I'll see you later Mikey." Phoebe left.

Before she decided to go back to class, Mikey pulled out her phone, called her father to let him know that she was going to stop by a friend's house for awhile.

"Ok, Mikey, but make sure you call me if you wound up staying maybe for the nigh-Wait it is a female friend right?" Her father asked on the other end of the phone.

"Yes dad, besides I don't think I'll sleep over."

"Ok, well, have fun and be careful."

"Bye daddy." She closed her phone and walked back to the building.

* * *

At the end of school, Mikey walked out of the building. "Now, where am I supposed to go?" A black limo rolled up in front of her.

The driver opened the window and looked at her. "Mikey Capone?" he asked. Mikey nodded. "Ms. Kaiba has ordered me to pick you up and drop you off at the house where the Kaibas live."

"Oh, I'm coming." She walked to the limo and got in.

* * *

Several minutes passed and the vehicle stopped in front of the gates of a huge mansion. "Jesus," The brunette stared at the building in awe. "That's even bigger than my place."

The driver walked to her side of the limo and opened the door. "Ms. Kaiba says go to the front." The driver went back to his side, opened the door, got in and drove off. Mikey turned around and walked to the front gates.

Phoebe got off a nearby chair, walked up to the gate, activated the switch on the other side with a password, and let her in. "Welcome," She smiled.

"You have a really big place." Mikey still couldn't believe anything she saw.

"I know, so are you ready to battle?"

"Sure,"

"Good," Phoebe and Mikey walked closer to the building and took their positions. "Ready? One-on-one." Mikey nodded. "Alright, let's-"

"Hold on, Phoebe!" Seto called to his sister as he came to them from the back of the mansion.

"Uh, Seto what is it?"

Her brother stood next to her. "I wanna battle her."

The girl across from them swallowed hard.

"Why, bro?" Phoebe asked, looking at him.

The older Kaiba smirked. "I need to see if this newbie truly is from the Neo region."

The female Kaiba backed away. "Um, if you say so," she walked back to the chair she was sitting in.

"Ready?" He pulled out a Pokéball from his belt. His opponent nodded. "Good, Blue, go!" He tossed the ball and the same Bludragon from before burst out of it with sparkles surrounding her. She let out a roar.

"Herben, go!" Herben came out of the ball his trainer threw and cringed at the sight of the bigger Pokémon looking down at him.

Seto looked at him, then at Mikey. "You go first." He told her in an annoyed voice.

"Fine, Herben, Tackle!" The tiny leaf Pokémon snapped out of its frozen state and ran toward Blue.

"Dragon Claw," Blue's trainer said, closing his eyes. The white dragon lifted her now glowing claw and swung at Herben.

"Jump up!" The grass Pokémon dodged the attack, "Vine Whip!" Herben, still in the air, released two vines from its neck and wrapped them around Blue's, practically choking her as he landed safely onto the ground.

Seto opened his eyes. "So, you want to show off now huh? Blue, Dragon Tail!" The dragon Pokémon lifted her tail and slammed it into Herben, whose vines released her neck. Blue gasped for air. "I think I've seen enough. Blue, Dragon Rush." Blue's body ignited a fiery blue color and she flew right into Herben, making him hit his head on the ground. He was knocked out cold.

Mikey slowly walked up to her Pokémon and knelt down next to him. "Herben?" she rubbed his side. "Are you okay? Herben?" tears started to form in her eyes. Seto walked up to her and picked up the fainted Pokémon. "What are you going to do with him?" She asked looking at the other trainer.

The dragon trainer looked up at the nearly dark sky. A storm looked like it was on its way. "It's best you stay with us for the night. This is one of those days when a rain storm comes to Vegas. My doctors can treat your Pokémon but he would have to stay and I doubt you'd leave him alone." He looked at her.

Mikey stood up and looked at him. "If you can really take care of him, then yes, I'll stay."

He nodded. "Fine, Phoebs," his sister walked up to him. "Show Mikey where she will be staying, I'll take him to the medical room." The blue eyed trainer turned to their home and walked away with Blue behind him.

Phoebe looked at Mikey. "Come with me." The two girls went inside the mansion and immediately went up the spiral staircase to the second floor. They walked to the fourth door from the left. "Here's where you will sleep for the night. Feel free to call your parents or whatever and tell them you'll be staying over."

"Thanks, but when can I see Herben?"

"You won't be able to see him until tomorrow."

Mikey nodded. "Thanks, Phoebe." Phoebe looked at her sadly, and then walked back downstairs. Mikey opened the door and was amazed by what she saw: the room was bigger than hers but only had small basic materials like a bed, TV, a desk, and a dresser. It also had another door leading to a bathroom. She sat on the bed and took out her phone to call her dad. He told her it would be okay to sleep over just be home first thing in the morning. "Luckily tomorrow is Saturday." She sighed and put her phone away. There was then a knock at the door. It was Phoebe, "yeah?"

"You can come down for dinner if you want."

"Thanks, I'll be down."

Phoebe left and walked down to the first floor and looked at her brother, who just came out of the medical room. "How is he?" She asked.

"Fine," was all he could say.

"I hope. Hey where's Mokuba?"

Seto looked at her. "He's at a friend's house. You probably won't see him 'till the morning."

"Oh, well hope he remembers to come home."

* * *

Back upstairs, all Mikey could think about was her Pokémon. If anything were to happen to him, like death, she would never be able to live it down. "Please be okay Herben." She said to herself softly and got up from the bed, and walk out of the room.

Seto was standing at the top of the stairs. "You okay?" He asked her.

She looked at him.

"Just worried about Herben," she walked past him and down the stairs. The other brunet followed her.

* * *

After dinner, which was quite fancy, Phoebe walked up to Mikey who was still sitting at the table. "You can wear a pair of my pajamas tonight. Don't worry they're clean." She smiled at the still depressed trainer.

"Thanks again Phoebe." She smiled again and went to her room. "Goodnight." She said and left. Mikey got up and walked back up the stairs to her room. Before she turned to get to it, she saw the first door opened. The Pokémon Trainer approached the room and saw Seto sitting at a chair, talking on the phone.

"Make sure you get home tomorrow, okay Mokuba?" He was talking to his and Phoebe's younger brother. Seto smiled a little. "Goodnight Mokuba." He shut his phone off and put it down. Mikey sped to the room and quickly entered it. Seto looked toward the entrance of his room and smirked, "heh, weird."

* * *

Mikey was lying on the bed in Phoebe's pajamas that depicted the normal and shiny version of a Pokémon known as Eevee on the pants. The top had one of each form playing with a bright colored beach ball. "Please be alright Herben." She still worried about her beloved Pokémon. After all, it was the first and only Pokémon she had. She turned to her side. "Maybe I should have told daddy that my friend DOES have brothers." She laughed. "Oh well, no big deal. I just need to stay here, get Herben, and then get the hell home tomorrow." Mikey grinned, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

**To be continued…**


	4. Family Feud, Yugi's Secret

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. Also, this chapter gets really lame at the end...

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon cries/speech

_italic_: thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**Family Feud; Yugi's Secret**

* * *

Saturday morning arrived and Mikey was still asleep at the Kaiba mansion in one of the guest rooms. She had decided to stay because she wanted to be close to her Chikorita, who she feels is responsible for making him battle a Bludragon. She continued to sleep until finally someone entered the room.

"Hey, wake up!" came a voice that yelled in her ear. Mikey screamed awake and jumped to the edge of the bed, looking at the person who woke her up. It was little boy with long, spiky black hair and gray eyes. He wore a red shirt with yellow and white sleeves and jeans. "Morning," the boy smiled.

"Oh, hello, who are you and how did you get in my room?" The still frightened brunette asked, looking at him.

"The name's Mokuba and my sis let me in."

Phoebe came in."Good morning, Mikey. Sorry about unlocking the door. Mokie here just wanted to finally see you." Mikey looked at her than at her brother.

"It's alright. He just scared me a little is all." Mokuba jumped off the bed as Mikey got up. "Hey thanks for letting me borrow your Pjs, Phoebe."

"Sure, anytime, I'll be downstairs near the backyard. Seto wants to show you something." She left the room.

Mikey looked at the other Kaiba. "What does he want to show me?" The raven-haired boy looked at her.

"I don't know. I just came home this morning." He laughed. "But he did say it was important. That's all I know." Mikey thought about it. "Hey, you know, you're really pretty."

The brunette blushed a little. "Gee, you think so?"

Mokuba nodded. "Anyway, get dressed and all and let's go." The little boy ran out of the room in a flash.

"Wow, what an energetic kid." Mikey said shocked by the boy's excitement.

After getting a shower and putting the same clothes on, she had yesterday, she went downstairs. Phoebe and Mokuba were in the kitchen waiting for her.

"The backyard is straight through here." Mokuba told her, pointing to a door that was at the end of the kitchen. Mikey walked up to it and opened the door. She walked outside and saw that the backyard was actually a flower garden with plenty of trees and flowers and other plants. Walking around, many bug, grass, and poison Pokémon crawled by her and either climbed the trees or played with the flowers. Flying Pokémon could be seen flying above also.

"As if this place couldn't amaze me anymore," Mikey looked around some more. She went to a tree and saw a blue colored dinosaur-like Pokemon with a green bulb on its back and red eyes. "Aww cute, a Bulbasaur." She went to pet the Grass-type, but it got scared and ran off. "Aww man, I just wanted to pet him."

"So, you're finally awake." Mikey looked behind her and Seto was standing there with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, I'm up. What did you want to show me?" Seto whistled and Blue and another black dragon with red markings flew to his side.

"Where's he at?" He asked the white dragon.

"_By the pond,_" The Bludragon told him.

"_Want one of use to get him?_" The black one asked.

"No Ruby, we'll go get him. You two go back to whatever it was you were doing?" The two dragon Pokémon nodded and flew back the direction they came. Mikey looked at the dragon trainer.

"Kaiba, what's going on?" She asked.

"Follow me to the pond." He told her as he walked in the exact same direction the dragons went. The other trainer looked at him.

"So who's Bloodragon (Blud-dra-gon) was that?" Mikey asked as they walked to the pond.

"Phoebe's," He told her, not looking at her.

"Wow, cool." She said looking back in front of her. The two finally made it there and saw many Grass-type Pokémon playing. A Pokémon Mikey recognized ran up to her. "Herben!" she picked him up and hugged him. "You're all better. I was so worried about you." The Pokémon smiled at her and licked her face. She looked at Seto. "Thank you." She smiled.

"No need to thank me. I just monitored him. I didn't really do anything. I stayed up most of the night with him." He told her petting Chikorita's leaf. The tiny leaf Pokémon giggled and shook his leaf.

"But why?" Mikey asked him confused.

Seto looked at her. "I did it because he is a Pokémon that was hurt. I didn't want to leave an injured Pokémon alone." Blue walked up to him. "They mean a lot to me, especially Blue." The dragon rubbed her head against his chest as he rubbed her head.

"You must really love Pokémon." The green eyed teen said looking at Bludragon. She and her trainer looked at her.

Phoebe then came outside. "Seto, it's almost time to go."

Her older brother looked at her. "Shit, I have to get ready." He looked at Blue. "Come on. Mikey, I will call somebody to take you home."

Mikey nodded. The two went back into the house. Phoebe looked at Mikey.

"So, you hungry?" She asked grinning.

Mikey looked at her. "Yes I am." She looked at Herben, whose stomach rumbled. "And so is Herben."

Phoebe laughed. "Ok, I'll get him something too." The two girls went inside.

A few minutes later, Mikey and Mokuba were at the kitchen table eating pancakes with some milk. Herben was eating a mixture of different berries. After they were all finished, they went into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"So when are you gonna go home?" Mokuba asked.

Mikey looked at him. "I don't know. I told my dad that I would leave first thing in the morning but…" She read the clock which read 10:04AM. "…that didn't go so well."

"Do you think he'll be mad?" He asked, rubbing Herben's back as he ate blue, round berry called an Oran Berry.

Mikey frowned. "I have no idea. He worries easily about me."

"Are you and your family close?"

Mikey sighed. "Well, my parents and I are but my sisters…not so much."

"What's wrong with them?" The young Kaiba asked, now curious.

Mikey bit her lip and decided it was best to not continue for fear that they might find out who her family is and her father didn't want that.

"That's not really important." She laughed nervously. "But I would like to ask you something."

Mokuba nodded. "Ok, what is it?"

"How did your family get so rich? Where are your parents? And did you guys always have money?"

Mokuba's mood changed dramatically. "Um, well…" He said, looking down at the floor.

"Everything okay?" she asked, now concerned.

"Our parents died six years ago." Phoebe said coming down the stairs.

Mikey looked at her wide-eyed and turned to Mokuba. "Really?" the boy nodded slowly. "Oh my god, that's terrible."

The black-haired boy began to cry and hugged Mikey tightly. His sister walked up to them.

"Mokie was the most traumatized. He was so young. We all were." She explained sitting down next to Mikey and rubbed her little brother's head. "It's okay, little bro." The young Kaiba proceeded to cry.

"I miss them still Phoebe." He sobbed, crying into Mikey's chest.

The brunette held him. "How did they die?" She asked, trying to comfort Mokuba. Chikorita climbed onto her shoulder.

Phoebe shook her head. "A freak car accident that shouldn't have happened," her face hardened in anger.

"What happened after that?" Mikey asked. Mokuba stopped crying and looked at his sister, rubbing his wet eyes.

"The three of us were then handed to our good-for-nothing aunt and uncle who used up all of the money our parents left for us. They spent it all because of their greed. We were then dropped off at an orphanage all the way in Topaz Village, Neo."

"I'm sorry." Mikey said with sympathy in her voice.

The other brunette's expression softened. "It's okay. Anyways we stayed there for several months until a man by the name of Gozaburo Kaiba came to visit us. At first it was just to donate money to a local charity that was associated with the place. Seto on the other hand had other plans. He challenged Gozaburo to a game of chess. My brother use to always watch his matches. He won the game by cheating. He then adopted us and then-"

"Phoebe, quiet!" Seto yelled coming down the stairs wearing a black shirt with black pants and a purple jacket. "She doesn't need to know everything."

"Sorry, she asked so I thought I'd tell her."

Seto placed his briefcase next to the door and looked at them. "The only thing she needs to know is that, that man was scum and I'm the new president of his corporation."

Mokuba got up and hugged him. "Bye Seto. Have a good day at work."

The taller boy scoffed. "It would be if I didn't have to deal with that other jerk."

"Now come on big brother, he isn't all that bad." Phoebe told him chuckling.

"Who?" Mikey asked.

"That rat, Francis Coppertino," Seto gritted his teeth. "That bastard ruined my chances. All three of his little hoes did too."

Mikey looked at him and suddenly began to sweat. _Shit, he must be in a feud with my dad and sisters. If he finds out I'm one of them, he might kill me._ She thought to herself.

"Earth to Mikey, are you okay?" Phoebe asked, waving her hand in front of her.

"Maybe she went catatonic." Mokuba added.

Mikey snapped out of her thoughts and looked at them. "Sorry guys. I guess I zoned out."

"Don't let me call the doctor back in here." Seto said looking at her.

Mikey shook her head. "No, no I'm fine. Don't worry about it." She assured them.

"Ok, good. See you guys later." Seto grabbed his briefcase and walked out the front door.

Mikey looked at Mokuba, who sat next to her. "So, what's the deal with these Coppertinos? Who are they? And why does your brother hate them so much?" She asked, trying not to reveal her identity.

"Well," Phoebe began. "They are supposedly a very rich family who have just realized their heritage. The new owner and president of Coppertino Industries, Frank Coppertino, recently inherited it from his father, John Coppertino, who was deceased a while ago. Frank and Gozaburo use to be longtime friends until they met, now Frank's wife, Terry. The three got into a sort of love triangle and after she chose Coppertino, Gozaburo left his former home of Amber Town and went on to become one of the richest men in the world by being president and CEO of Kaiba Corp. The Coppertinos were fine with their family and happiness." Mikey listened to her story intently.

"Or so they think." Phoebe said getting serious. "After my brother took control, this boy Yugi Moto entered the fray and he battled my brother in a Pokémon battle. The battle however was not normal, and neither was Yugi, for when Seto surprisingly lost that match to him, he was strangely attacked by imaginary Pokémon. This caused him to be on bed rest for awhile. After that, he was out for revenge against Yugi. He even got Mokuba and I involved. He set up one of the deadliest games in the history of horrifying games."

"And what was that?" Mikey gulped.

"Death-T," Mokuba answered for Phoebe.

"What's that?"

"Death-T was a park full of deadly games. It was organized by my brother in order to get revenge on Yugi and his friends. It was separated into several games. Each proceeding game more dangerous than the last. There were also some events that were related to Death-T but were not entirely part of the program. Those involved the three Coppertino daughters and Frank himself." Phoebe explained.

"But I thought he hated them?" Mikey asked.

"Well, actually at the time he just disliked them because Frank had some involvement with Gozaburo who he despised. He hired the four of them to participate. They failed however and their fate was also in Yugi's hands. I'm telling you, every time I see that kid, I swear he's a totally different person then who he's letting on. Anyways, after they lost, Seto got even more furious with them and dismissed the family as complete failures in life. When the final round of Death-T arrived, he had his rematch against Yugi. He was on the verge of winning too, until Yugi somehow managed to get a hold of a legendary Pokémon known as Ryosiris (Ra-ho-si-ris). It was so powerful it defeated Bludragon with a single attack. After that, Yugi used some kind of magic and put Seto into a coma for 6 months. After he finally got out of it, he continues to have a rage for Yugi Moto and for the Coppertinos because he thought they were smart enough to help him. Frank also hates him for using his family for his selfish deeds. Sometimes…I actually believe him." The brunette looked at Mikey.

"Wow! That's a pretty intense story."

"Yeah, I guess so." Phoebe said. "The bad thing is Seto has to see him every day and neither of them like it, but they have to because they both own big companies that are ironically right across from each other."

"Really?"

Phoebe nodded. "And as for Yugi, he's sick of seeing him and his 'pathetic' friends. Sometimes I feel bad, but I don't want to lose my brother's trust by hanging out with them."

"I know what you mean sis. They like me and I was just as bad to them as you two were. Why can't they accept Seto as well?" Mokuba asked his sister.

"Because Mokuba, he isn't exactly nice to them either, but he does what he wants to do I guess." Mikey got up and walked to the door. Chikorita followed her. "Where you going Mikey?" Phoebe asked walking up to her.

She looked at her. "I have to go. You're brother says he's gonna have somebody waiting for me." She and Herben walked out the door.

Mokuba walked up to his sister's side. "Do you think we said something wrong?" The youngest Kaiba asked looking at Phoebe.

"I don't know, but something about her doesn't seem right." She told him.

At Kaiba Corp, a tall corporate building with a KC logo on top of the entrance; along with two dragon Pokémon statues (Bludragon and Bloodragon) standing next to it, Seto Kaiba himself was in his office staring out his window when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." He said and opening the door was none other than Francis Coppertino. Seto turned and looked at him. "What do you want?" He growled.

"Kaiba, did you see these papers?" He threw a pile of papers he had in his hand onto the desk.

Seto looked at them. "What about them?" He asked, sitting down.

"Who the hell is ordering all those items?" Frank asked. "You know damn well the only way to get those is to go to the Neo Region and frankly, I don't have the time."

"Relax, Francis. I can just send someone to go there and pick up the items. As for the ones in Kanto, those will be no problem." He took the papers and walked to the door. "Come on." He opened the door and motioned him to follow. The two walked down the hall. "So what's going on at home that you're taking it out on me?" Seto asked not taking his gaze off the direction he was walking.

"Nothing, you know I don't like working with you." He said. Actually, he was only worried about his daughter, Mikey not coming home.

The teenage CEO smirked. "Well that's just too bad now. You just moved here so I have to show you how to run a company for a while. The government also thinks that we should merge and I'm like 'no way'." They stopped at a room.

"I agree with you." The older man remarked.

Seto grinned. "Well isn't that interesting, we both agree on something." He unlocked the door and went in. Frank glared at him and followed.

Meanwhile, a black limo stopped a half mile from the Coppertino home. "Are you sure this is where you wanna get off, Ms. Capone?" asked the driver to Mikey.

"Yes." She said and opened the door and got out. "Thank you." The driver tipped his hat and drove away. Mikey walked until she saw Yugi's house. "Maybe, I'll go see how he's doing." She walked up to his house and saw Yugi sitting on the stair with Joey and Shanice standing next to him.

"Hey, it's Mikey." Shanice said, holding her rabbit-like, Pokémon Nidoran.

Yugi ran up to her. "Hey, how are you? Where you been?" He asked, looking at her.

"Um, I was at somebody's house that's all." She said, not wanting them to know that she stayed with the Kaibas, especially after hearing Phoebe's story.

"You stayed at rich boy's house, didn't you?" Joey asked walking to her side.

"Um…" Mikey looked at him.

"He means Seto Kaiba." Yugi said.

"How do you know?" She asked, irritated.

"I saw you leave school yesterday in one of his limos. I know his driver. Trust me." Joey told her looking at Yugi who nodded.

"Yeah, well sorry about that. Phoebe offered to battle me and I went over. Only problem is, her brother battled me instead."

"You battled Kaiba with your Chikorita?" Yugi asked, "The day after battling Cyndaquil?"

"Yeah? What's wrong with that?" Mikey asked, getting mad.

"Mikey, you should know that after Pokémon battles, especially losses, they need a few days rest. You can't just send an injured Pokémon into battle without proper care." The violet-eyed boy said sadly.

"Yeah, I thought you would know that being a Coppertino and everything. They're supposed to be Pokémon experts." Joey said.

Yugi and Shanice looked at him.

"Joey!" They yelled simultaneously.

Mikey gasped. "How the hell?" she then looked at Yugi.

"I-I had to Mike. They were curious and I was also. I just couldn't keep a secret like that from my friends."

"Yugi…" Mikey became a little mad but not a whole lot.

"I'm sorry!" He cried and ran off.

"Yugi wait!" Mikey followed him.

"Oh good work, dumbass," Shanice slapped Joey's arm.

"Sorry Shanice, I didn't think it was a big deal."

The dark skinned girl sighed.

Awhile later, Mikey was still searching for Yugi. "Damn it, where the hell is he?" She sat down on a bench near gates surrounding a nearby park. "This is all my fault. I should have said something to them about my name, and then he wouldn't have told them." She got up when she thought she heard something. "Yugi?" she walked toward an ally. "Um, I don't think I should go down there. I mean even if it isn't dark. It's still dangerous." She sighed. "I gotta find Yugi though, so I might as well check." She then begins to walk down it. The alley was so narrow; nobody could see what was down it just by looking. It was big enough to fit a single person or a line of people.

"Hello?" She asked. Something ran across at the end. She ran all the way to the end and wounded up outside the park, behind the bleachers, barely able to be seen by anyone in there. "Well, I least I got out of there safe and sound." She told herself relieved. Something sharp and cold was suddenly felt on the back of her neck.

"Don't move." A voice said. The now scared teen froze in place. _Or not,_ she thought to herself. "Now turn around slowly, girlie." Mikey turned around and a strange man was standing in front of her, holding a knife to her neck. He looked beat up and dirty, and his clothes had tears and were rundown.

"I-I don't want any trouble." She said nervously.

"Good, then you'll do as I say." The blade he was holding pressed hard against her throat.

"How about…no!" she slid away from him and ran screaming. "Help me!" She cried but the man grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a wall, her head hitting the brick.

"Now, let's try this again." He grabbed the dazed brunette and forced her to look at him. "Ready to play?" he grinned and moved his face closer to hers. Mikey closed her eyes and prepared for the worst, until a stream of fire shot across his back making him scream. He let go of her and turned around to see what struck him.

"You better leave her alone if you know what's good for you creep." A deep voice said.

The thug made a fist. "Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?"

"Flamethrower!" a Cyndaquil jumped in front of the voice carrier and spit out flames at the other. He screamed in pain and ran off. "Stay here." The Cyndaquil trainer told his Pokémon and he went after the crook. The fire mouse Pokémon nuzzled its nose against Mikey's face, as she sat against the back wall unconscious.

"_Cynda?_" the mouse looked her over and notices the contusion on her head.

"Mikey?" Cyndaquil's trainer asked as he returned and knelt by her. He stroked her cheek and looked at the blood coming out of her head wound. Mikey slowly opened her eyes and looked at the person who was before her. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Y-Yugi?" she asked, weakly.

The boy before her looked a lot like Yugi but not entirely. He was taller, eyes were more magenta than purple, voice was deeper, and had more blond strips of his hair spiked up. She then passed out again. The spiky headed boy picked her up bridal style and carried her away with Cyndaquil behind him.

**To be continued...**


	5. From Thugs to Riches

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. My longest one yet...also contains language so yeah be prepared.

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon cries/speech

_italic_: thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**From Thugs to Riches**

* * *

The place that she stood felt cold, empty, and full of despair. Mikey was standing there in the darkness, alone. Her surroundings looked ancient and ruined. "Hello?" She asked, voice echoing throughout. She turned around when she heard a noise and saw a boy who looked like her friend Yugi, only different and wore Egyptian-like clothing. He was looking at a man who looked like Seto Kaiba. He too was wearing an Egyptian wardrobe. "Yugi? Kaiba?" Mikey walked up to them slowly but not before a huge red dragon and a blue gargoyle-like beast fell from the sky. The four looked at her. They said a phrase in Arabic and lunged at her.

"Ahh!" Mikey suddenly woke up in her bed. She breathed heavily and looked around. "What kind of dream was that?" She looked down on the floor and saw Cindy and Herben sleeping. _Yugi's here._ She thought to herself. The door then opened and the aforementioned boy entered the room, "Yugi?"

"Oh you're up." He walked to her bedside and sat down. "How are you feeling?" Mikey looked at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked raising her hand. She felt silk material. "Hey, what is on my head?"

"Your head hit a wall. Don't you remember?" Yugi asked looking at her.

Mikey thought for a moment.

"Wait, I remember something." She sat up more and slid closer to Yugi. "I saw a guy that looked almost exactly like you."

Yugi blinked.

"Seriously?" Mikey nodded. "Oh boy. I think I know what happened."

"What happened?"

"_Maybe you should tell her Yugi._" A deep voice said.

Mikey looked over to the other end of the bed and saw a transparent version of the man that rescued her.

"Ahh!" she backed up to her wall, screaming. "Where the hell did you come from?" Yugi looked at him then back at Mikey.

"You can see him?" He asked bewildered.

"Why? Should I not be able to?" She asked not taking her eyes off of the other boy.

"_Mikey, I'm a spirit._" The other Yugi told her.

"Say what now?" The brunette looked at Yugi who sighed.

"I knew I would have to eventually explain this to you. I just didn't think it would be now."

"Well somebody better talk." She looked at the upside down pyramid artifact around his neck. "One more thing, what is that around your neck? I've been meaning to ask you." Yugi held the necklace.

"Oh this? This my Millennium Puzzle. It's an Egyptian item given to me by my grandfather. It was in many pieces and took me 8 years to complete."

"Wow!" Mikey looked at it some more. "You said Egypt, right?" The blond nodded. Mikey remembered her dream then looked at the other boy on her bed.

"Oh yeah and that guy's Yami. He came from this puzzle. He always comes out when somebody needs him. About a year ago, I found out he was from Egypt, but so far that's all we know."

"That's pretty intense." Yami looked at Mikey. "And what do you think you're staring at?"

"_Nothing, it's just Yugi told me about you and I'm just trying to see what is so special about you._" He smirked. "_Now I see it._"

"Why you-" Mikey began to say but Yugi interrupted her.

"Hey Mikey, how can you see him when no one else besides me could? I mean I know why I could, but not you."

She shrugged. "Dude, if I knew that, I wouldn't be in shock right now; and would you stop looking at me?" She glared at Yami who laughed.

The door then opened and her father came in. Yami vanished.

"Mikey, are you okay?" He asked, walking up to her.

"I'm fine daddy." She smiled a little. He hugged her gently.

"Where have you been? You were supposed to come home earlier today. Mikey's face saddened.

"I know and I'm sorry. I was on my way, but-"

"It's my fault, sir." Yugi said looking at him.

"And how so?" he was asked.

"She saw us and wanted to see how I was. She found out I told my friends who she was and I saw her get mad. I didn't want her to hate me, so I ran off and she followed me."

"Yes, I already know that you told you're friends. You better not have told-"

"I didn't, sir." The spiky-headed teen interrupted again.

Frank looked at Mikey. "How's your head?"

"It's fine. I feel a little dizzy though, but nothing too serious." She assured her father.

Yugi jumped off the bed and turned to him.

"I need to tell you something outside." He walked to the door and left. The elder Coppertino followed.

"Get better, Mikey." He grinned and left.

Frank looked at Yugi when he exited the room. "What is it?" He asked with a straight face.

Back inside, Mikey was talking to the now awake Pokemon. "So, did you guys sleep well?" The grass and fire Pokémon nodded. Mikey smiled. "Good to know."

"What?" Frank looked at Yugi infuriated. "Are you sure?" The young Pokémon Trainer nodded.

"She said she knew him along with his sister and maybe brother."

"I cannot believe this." He paced back and forth in front of the door. "Wait!" He looked at Yugi. "He didn't tell me anything, so he must not know who she is."

"I guess so." Yugi assumed. The doorbell rang. "I'll get it."

Outside the home, Joey was holding his Turtwig and his friend Shanice was holding her Nidoran female. "I hope she's okay." Shanice told Joey.

"Me too, Shay," the door opened and Yugi was on the other side.

"Hey guys." He smiled. "What's up?"

"Nyeh, Yugi? What are you doing here? Or do I even need to ask?" He laughed. Shanice stepped on his foot. "Ow! Damn Shanice you never let me have any fun."

"Whose fault is that?" She grinned. "Anyway, why are you here?"

"I was making sure she was okay is all," he looked at Joey and glared. "Joey,"

The dirty blond laughed to himself. "Sorry Yuge."

Mikey then came out next to him.

"Hey there guys." She smiled, "you here for Yugi?"

"Yeah, you better not be keeping him from-Ow!" Turtwig head butted his chin. Shanice giggled softly.

"Aww, I would never keep him from you guys, even if he is adorable." She winked at Yugi whose face turned red from embarrassment. Joey laughed hard.

"Shut up, Joey." He said still blushing.

Mikey walked up to them. "So, were you guys planning on going somewhere?" She asked.

"Well, we were going to the Strip, but now I don't know." Joey replied.

"Aww, I would be glad to come if you were still going."

The Turtwig trainer's eyes brightened. "Really?" he grabbed her hand.

"Mike, where are you going?" called her father who stood behind Yugi in the doorway.

"Going out with my pals," she smiled.

"You can't. You still have to heal."

"I'm fine. Besides some dizziness, I'm well." Yugi ran to her side.

"Don't worry Mr. C. I'll take care of her." Joey offered.

"Pfft, yeah right. I'll watch her." Shanice said, doubting Joey.

"How about we all watch her?" Tristan said coming up from his motorcycle.

"Really T?" Joey looked at his best friend.

"Yeah man, sure. I'm the most responsible."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "How about we ALL look out for each other?" He told his bickering friends.

"Eh, Yuge's right. We can all look out for each other." Joey smiled wrapping his arms around his little buddy.

Francis sighed. "Alright, fine, but you better bring her back here safely."

"Hey, don't worry man, she'll be alright in our ha-"

"Please stop talking." Tristan told Joey who growled under his breath.

"We'll be back daddy." Mikey waved. "Say bye to mom for me." She smiled and the five teenagers walked off.

"Sometimes, I think I worry too much." Frank said to himself and walked back into the house.

"We can take my ride." Joey said standing in front of a green sedan.

"Nice car, Joey." Mikey said.

"Thanks Mike." The blond told her, opening the back door. "After you," he held his hand out.

"Oh thanks, Joey." Tristan said getting into the backseat.

"Grr, Tristan. I opened it for Mikey, not you."

The brunet laughed.

"It's okay, Joey. Thanks for being nice." She went in followed by Yugi. Joey shut the door and he and Shanice went to the front.

During the ride, Shanice talked with the three in the back as Joey looked where he was going. About 25 minutes later, they stopped at the main attraction of the city: The Strip.

"We're here!" Joey said getting out of the car.

"You mind telling me why we parked at the Flamingo parking lot?" Shanice asked, leaning on the car.

"I'm use to parking here."

"So, you gamble illegally?" Tristan questioned.

"No! I just- Forget it. Come on." Joey raised his hand to block out his friend's words and left.

"Hey, wait for us." Yugi called, trying to gather the Pokémon that were in the back seat.

The trainers walked past the cars in the parking lot and made their way into the casino.

"Hurry up guys. I really am trying so hard not to wanna gamble." Joey joked.

"Very funny," Tristan walked up behind him. "The exit is that way." He pointed to the left of them.

"Let's go. Onward!" Joey pointed in that direction and walked briskly off.

"Sometimes that boy scares me." Shanice said, Yugi and Tristan nodded in agreement.

"Here we are. Fresh air, guys." Joey breathed in deeply. "Yup, great afternoon," The others followed him outside the casino.

"Damn, it's empty." Shanice said looking around. "Where is everyone?"

Yugi looked down the street. "Down there." He pointed a few blocks down and saw a giant crowd of people.

"Let's go!" Joey ran ahead. His friends followed. They made it to the front of a casino known as the Bellagio. "Excuse me, coming through. The man needs to pass." Joey shoved past the people of the crowd. The others followed, apologizing as they went.

"Hey, what the hell makes you so special that you have to push ones that were here first?" A man said to Joey.

The teen pulled out his Pokeball, "because, I can sic my Pokémon on your ass." He grinned holding the red and white ball.

"Ok man, whatever." The other backed off.

"Heh heh, worked like a charm."

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice from the surrounding speakers. "Performing today's water show, please welcome, Seto and Phoebe Kaiba!"

The crowd cheered all except the five Pokémon Trainers.

"Why are they here?" Joey pouted.

Two of the three Kaiba siblings walked up to each other along the edges of the deep, diamond-shaped pool. Phoebe waved at the crowd. All the boys and men in the crowd hollered.

"Yeah, go Phoebe!" "You're hot girl" were some of the comments made by the men of the large crowd.

Mokuba walked up to the front of the pool from the right. "Seto!" he called for his brother, who bent down to grab the microphone in his hand.

"Thanks Mokuba." He said standing back up next to his sister.

The youngest Kaiba backed up and looked up to see Joey and the others.

"Oh hey guys. Why are you here?" He asked.

"We thought it was a beautiful day to come out here. What are you three doing?" Shanice asked.

"Seto and Phoebs are doing the water show today because the pipes aren't working. We're getting a mechanic to fix them but in the meantime, they're going to help out." Mokuba told them.

Seto held the microphone a few inches from his mouth. "Alright guys, are you all ready to see a show?" The crowd applauded and hollered once more.

The females of the crowd went into an uproar when Seto spoke.

"Damn, I wish girls would go nuts-o when I talk to them." Joey practically yelled, covering his ears.

"They do." Shanice laughed.

The brown-eyed teen glared at her, "ha, ha."

Kaiba tossed the mic to Phoebe. "Today, our two Pokémon will be putting on a contest-themed water show just for you wonderful folks of Las Vegas. So who's ready?" Everyone cheered again. "Wonderful. So here we go. Vapor and Dragonite, show time!" the two brunets hopped off the pool and walked in opposite directions to the back of it.

The show then began. Five wide streams of water emerged from the inside of the pool and went up to around six feet in length.

"Whoa! That's cool." Shanice and Tristan said in unison and in amazement.

A purple cat-fish hybrid leaped out of the water, rolling in the air before landing gracefully on its mermaid tail.

"_Vaporeon!_" it cried with a beautiful voice.

"That's a shiny Vaporeon!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's Phoebe's. She mostly has shinies." Yugi told her.

The water subsided and seconds later 4 more streams of water came out and made a heart before disappearing.

"So, they're coordinators?" Mikey asked again.

Yugi nodded. "Yup, Kaiba is a two-time Grand Festival champion, while Phoebe has won ten ribbons also."

The brunette turned to look back at the show. _Damn._ She thought.

After several more streams of water and shapes of a circle, triangle, and diamond form, four more, purple Vaporeon jumped from the water with a cry and landed, two on each side, next to the main Pokémon. The four combined with the middle one. The other Vaporeon were part of a Double Team it performed before the start of the performance. A huge orange dragon with medium sized, cyan wings and tan antennae flew out of the pool with a deep bellow.

"Kaiba's Dragonite!" Joey yelled.

"We see that, Joey." Shanice remarked.

The dragon Pokémon's eyes glowed and rain began to fall, causing a rainbow to be visible as it passed the sun's glare. The aqua jet Pokémon then spit a forceful of water toward the sun, which evaporated upon hitting the sky, sending tiny sparkles down around the crowd. Dragonite landed next to the purple Pokémon and they both bowed. Everyone began to clap and comment on the performance.

"Thank you, everyone, hope you all enjoyed." The middle Kaiba told everyone smiling as her water Pokémon jumped off to her side. "See you next time." The two Kaibas walked off with their Pokémon behind. The five trainers and Mokuba followed them.

"Seto! Phoebe!" Mokuba ran up to his older siblings and hugged Phoebe.

"Hey Mokie, what'd you think?" Phoebe smiled at her young brother.

He looked up at her. "It was spectacular."

"Well, glad everyone seemed to like it." Seto told his little brother. His mood changed when he spotted Yugi and the others. "What are you morons doing here?"

"Just hanging out man, we didn't know you were performing here." Joey told him in a cheery tone.

"Hmph, well no one asked and quite frankly it wasn't anyone's business." He crossed his arms and turned so his back was facing them.

"Hey, no need to be a jerk Kaiba. I was only being nice." The blond teen clenched his fist.

"Joey, don't. Just let him go." Mikey told him, holding his arm.

Seto turned around when he heard her voice and looked at her. "What are you doing with them?" He asked, not pleased.

"They're my friends, so I'm hanging out with them."

The taller brunette scoffed. "Here we go." He turned around and began to leave but Phoebe stopped him.

"Come on, Seto. It's not like we own her or anything." Her brother didn't answer; instead he looked back at them.

"You guys hungry?" He asked them calmly.

The others looked at each other.

"Seriously?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine, if you're not then-"

"No, no I am." Tristan said elbowing Joey in the side.

"Yeah me too, it's just weird is all." Joey said, rubbing his side, "and really T?" His friend shrugged.

"Then let's go." The aristocrat said, walking off with his siblings behind. Joey and the others followed.

The gang made it to one of Vegas' famous restaurants and casinos, Caesar's Palace.

"Whew, I never thought I'd ever come here." Joey said with excitement as he entered the building.

"Ah-hem," Kaiba cleared his throat and motioned everyone to follow him.

"Joe, we can play around later. Come on." Phoebe told the overexcited blond. They all made it to a restaurant.

"This place ain't half bad." Tristan said as he enjoyed a steak.

"Dude this place rocks." Joey added after biting a piece of his food. "Thanks for bringing us here, rich boy." He told Seto, who was too busy looking at another customer.

"Kaiba, you okay?" Shanice asked.

"That kid." He pointed out a teenager about their age, eating at a table with a pale feline with pink inner ears, and a curled tail lying next to it.

"What about him?" Mokuba asked.

"He has a Pokémon out and casino rules state: No Pokémon!" Kaiba stood up.

"Seto, please don't make a scene." Phoebe pleaded.

Joey stood up also. "Who does he think he is?" He asked.

Seto smoothly made his way to the table.

"Oh god," the Kaiba sister put a hand on her face. "I can't watch this." Joey followed him.

The blond cat Pokémon owner was talking on the phone.

"Yeah, I'll be there soon. Just finishing up here first," Seto cleared his throat and Joey slapped his fist. The boy took a quick glance at them then went back to his conversation, "just at Caesar's Palace, dude."

"Excuse me, kid." Seto was beginning to lose his patience.

The boy raised his hand up. "I know, I know but-"

"I said, 'excuse me'!" The now enraged brunet raised his voice.

"Hold on, I'll call you back." The blond closed his phone, put it in his pocket, and looked at Seto. "Can I help you buddy?"

"You better have a good explanation why you're breaking the rules kid?" Seto asked leaning over the table. The cat Pokémon opened its eyes.

"Listen pal, I-"

"I am not your pal. So explain yourself."

"I was going to until you interrupted me." The blond told him. "Anyways, I have special privileges because I paid the people who seated me." He grinned proudly.

"So you're a spoiled, rich brat?" Joey asked, still playing with his fist.

"Joey…" Seto looked at Joey then back at the other. "Listen kid, just because you have money, doesn't mean you can break all the rules in a public place and let other trainers' Pokémon starve."

"Not my problem. They just didn't earn it."

Seto growled. "Like you know what earning money is all about you spoiled piece-of-"

"Seto, stop!" Phoebe stood behind to two boys.

"Wait, are you Seto Kaiba?" The blond, rich teen asked.

"What's it to you?" The older boy asked.

"The name's Anthony Winchester and I-"

"Rich boy?" Phoebe asked, confused. "Is that you?"

"The one and only," Anthony grinned. "Why don't we settle this outside when I am finished?"

"Come on Kaiba, let me pound this asshole."

Seto shook his head. "Fine, we'll take your offer." He turned to Joey. "Wait till we get outside." He walked back to the table. Phoebe and Joey followed.

A few minutes later, the five made their way outside.

"So wait, what are we doing?" Shanice asked.

"Kicking a snobby rich kid's ass," Joey told them smiling. "Finally," He raised his fist in the air. Seto stood next to him.

Then, Anthony and his Pokémon arrived. "Hello all." He grinned evilly.

"There he is." Joey started to jump at him but Seto held him back.

"Hold on, Wheeler."

Joey seemed defeated. "You're no fun."

Anthony chuckled. "What did you want Kaiba?" He asked, petting his Pokémon.

"What are you doing in Vegas?" The brunet asked.

"I'm here on business, right Richie?" He stroked his Pokémon, a shiny Persian's back as he purred.

"I bet." Seto pulled out a Pokéball. "You have some nerve showing your face here. Why are you here, to steal Pokemon?"

"What does he mean?" Yugi asked, looking up at Phoebe.

"Rich boy - as people call him - use to be a member of Team Rocket which is an evil gang of Pokémon poachers from Kanto and Johto. He tried stealing all of Seto and my Pokémon before."

"Damn." Tristan commented. "What a bitch."

Anthony smirked as Kaiba summoned his Dragonite.

"And you'll never do it again, punk." Kaiba retorted.

"If you say so Kaiba," Anthony grinned.

"Kaiba, hold on." Yugi said walking up to him as his puzzle lit up.

"What do you want?"

"To battle with you," now Yami, told him with a malevolent look.

"Fine, just stay out of Dragonite's way." The dragon trainer told him annoyed. Mikey walked up behind them.

"Are you guys sure about this?" She asked, Herben coming out of its ball.

"Don't worry about us. His little pussy can't beat us." The darker Yugi tossed his Pokémon and sent out Cindy who's back lit up upon entrance to the field.

"You'll eat those words. Richie, go Fury Swipes." The classy cat Pokémon meowed and ran up to the two Pokémon.

"Flame Wheel! Dragon Claw!" Kaiba and Yami called to their Pokémon. Cyndaquil's body was engulfed in fire and Dragonite's claw tips glowed. Persian jumped in the air, dodging the attacks that were aimed at him and slashed his enemies evenly four times, and then landing behind them on his feet.

"Cindy, Smokescreen." Yami told his fire Pokémon who breathed black smoke that covered the battlefield.

"Dragonite, grab him." Seto commanded as his orange Pokémon grabbed the Normal-type Pokémon. The smoke cleared and Dragonite could be seen holding Persian.

"Flame Wheel!" Cindy ran toward the Persian who was squealing in the dragon's grip.

"Power Gem!" The cat's red jewel on his forehead lit up and pieces of rock came out and slammed into the two Pokémon with a super effective hit for both.

"Shit." Seto said to himself.

"I got your back man, Flamethrower!" Cindy regained her balance and released fire that burned Richie on contact. "Yes!" The spiky headed trainer sneered. "How'd you like that?"

"Loved it," Anthony smirked. "Blizzard!" the cat Pokémon opened his mouth and a barrage of ice hit Dragonite."

"How dare you!" Its trainer became angrier. "Outrage!" the dragon flapped its wings releasing a force of orange colored energy that bombarded Richie, sending him flying and landing on his side, struggling to get up.

"Alright, go Seto!" Mokuba cheered for his brother.

"I guess cats don't always land on their feet." Tristan said, he and Shanice laughing.

_I don't know._ Phoebe was in deep thought. _Why would he let Outrage hit him so easily?_ She narrowed her eyes. _He must be up to something._

"Finish him off Yugi; I don't want my Pokémon getting confused." Seto offered Yugi's assistants.

"With pleasure, Cindy, Flamethrower," Cindy started to open her mouth but a navy blue flying Pokémon with a red face and breasts, and a "v" on its neck swooped down and grabbed Herben with its talons.

"Herben!" Mikey cried watching as her Pokémon gets taking away from her.

"_Chika!_" the leaf Pokémon struggle to free itself.

"I got you!" His trainer jumped up and grabbed the leaf Pokémon. The flying Pokémon was however strong enough to hover with Mikey dangling from Herben.

"Hey, what's the big idea brat?" Joey asked. He and Shanice held their Pokéballs.

"Cheating again Anthony," Seto said. "You just can't be fair."

"Screw the rules, I'm rich!" He cackled as Richie stood up. "Swallow, kick the little bitch off you." The swallow Pokémon, now hovering over Seto and Yami, held Herben by one claw and kicked Mikey off with the other. She fell off and landed on Seto, causing both of them to fall to the floor.

"Are you two alright?" Yami asked. The two looked at each other.

"Could you, like, get off me?" Seto asked Mikey who looked at him nervously.

"S-Sorry," she got of him and he followed. "Herben!" she refocused on her Pokémon.

"Make one move and the little guy gets it." The Swellow flew above his trainer.

"Why you-"

"Yugi, don't." Seto held his partner back. "We can't let Herben get hurt." Dragonite and Cindy looked at each other.

"Do you give up fools?" Anthony laughed manically.

"You wish, freak!" Seto barked.

"You won't get away with this. If you hurt him, I swear to God, I'll kill you." Mikey threatened.

"You're empty threats don't intimidate me, little girl."

"_Chika-ri_," the Chikorita cried for help. Vapor then shot up, using Water-Gun to the ground and wacked her tail into the Swellow, causing him to let Herben go.

"Herben, I got you." Mikey held out her arms to catch him, but not before Swallow flew toward her.

"Mikey, look out!" yelled Yami.

She saw the flying Pokémon and jumped away. "But, Herben," the dinosaur Pokémon was caught by a parakeet Pokémon with blue wings, a green tummy, and yellow chest. It dropped him into Mikey's arms.

"Good job, Perap!" Tristan told his Chatot as he flew onto his shoulder.

"_Good job, good job!_" He squawked.

Vapor ran to Phoebe.

"You too, Vapor." Phoebe congratulated her Pokémon. Kaiba and Yami grinned sadistically at Anthony.

"Looks like your number's up." Yami said.

"You're going down." Seto added.

"Swallow, Richie, get them." The two Pokémon charged for Dragonite and Cindy.

"I got this Yugi, Outrage!" Dragonite slammed his glowing wing into both the Persian and Swellow.

"Richie return." The blond held up his Pokéball and a red light grabbed the fainted cat and brought him back into his ball. "Swallow, go!" The bird Pokémon struggled to stand. "Come on, get up worm!" Seto and Yami glared at him. Swellow's trainer walked up to him. "You weak piece of shit, get up now!" He slapped the injured bird Pokemon, who squawked in pain.

"Oh my god!" Phoebe cried out. "What the fuck are you doing to him?" She asked, pissed off. Vapor's eyes hardened in anger.

"Motivating him to get up and fight. Now get up!" blood, streamed down his wings.

"Stop it Anthony, that's enough!" Yami hollered.

"I don't have time for you losers. Just return." He started to hold up his Swellow's Pokéball but his phone rang. "Crap, I forgot. I'm going." He turned to leave, but Seto stopped him.

"Wait! What about Swellow?"

"Hmph, that pathetic bird is useless to me." He arrogantly turned around and walked off.

"Get back here asshole!" Seto became beyond irritated.

"Forget him Kaiba." Yami picked up Swallow. "We have to get him medical attention quick."

"We can take him back to my place." Seto said, trying to calm down.

"Then let's go." Joey said, "To the Joe mobile!"

The eight trainers drove to the Kaiba mansion and doctors attended to the flying Pokémon. Swallow the Swellow was on a bed in the CCU hooked up to a breathing machine, a heart monitor, and other instruments that recorded his vital signs. Yugi sat at the chair in front of the bed, along with Cindy, Herben, Nina the Nidoran female, Brutroot the Turtwig, and Perap sat beside the bed.

_I can't believe that jerk._ Yugi thought to himself. _Just hang on Swallow._ The Pokémon on the floor looked at him.

"Are you staying here?" Seto asked, walking into the room with Blue next to him.

"I guess. I hate to see anyone like this, even a Pokémon." Seto and Yugi both looked at Swallow.

"I guess everyone will leave their Pokémon here tonight?" The blue-eyed teen asked. Yugi nodded. "Very well," he turned and walked out of the room. Blue stared at Yugi for a few more seconds and walked off as well. Yugi sighed and continued to watch Swallow.

"So how is he?" Mikey asked when Seto came out of the room.

"I don't know. Swellow should be fine for now, but Yugi on the other, hand feels more responsible." He told her.

"It's not his fault." Phoebe mentioned, sitting on the sofa with Mikey and Mokuba. Her brother nodded in agreement. "I know why Yugi is staying here, but why are you, Mikey?"

"I feel bad for Yugi," was all she said.

"Hmph, I'll be in my room. If you guys need anything or if anything changes, come see me. Okay?" The other three nodded. "Good." He retired to his room.

Mikey sat on the couch with so much on her mind, especially worried about Yugi, Swallow, and even herself.

**To be continued...**


	6. The Wrath of Seto Kaiba

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. This one also contains harsh language so yeah be prepared...contests start next chapter.

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokémon cries/speech

_italic_: thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**The Wrath of Seto Kaiba**

* * *

The next day, Sunday arrived and Yugi was still in the medical office inside the Kaiba mansion with Swallow the Swellow. He was on his knees and laying his head on the bed. The swallow Pokémon opened his eyes slowly and looked at him.

"_Swell…_" He softly pecked Yugi's head to wake him up. The boy woke up and looked at him.

"Hey Swallow, you're up. How you feeling?" he smiled. The Pokémon sat up and stretched his talons. "You seem to be healing great." Cindy yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Morning, Cindy." Yugi greeted, picking her up. "Look, Swallow is all better." He held the fire Pokémon up to the bird who tilted his head. "Cindy and the rest of the Pokémon were all worried about you." The Pokémon continued to look into his eyes. "Uh…"

Joey came into the room. "Morning buddy." he cheerfully said to his friend.

Yugi stood up and walked up to him, "Oh morning, Joey."

Joey looked at Swallow on the bed. "So how's the bird? If he doesn't get better, can we cook him?" Swallow became nervous and Yugi punched his arm. "What? It was a joke, geez." The blond walked to the door. "Anyways, Kaiba and his sibs are going out somewhere and they're kicking us out, so let's go."

"I'm not leaving without Swallow."

Joey froze in place then looked at Yugi. "Swallow what?"

The shorter teen shook his head. "Swallow is the nickname Anthony gave his Swellow."

"Dude, that sucks." The other laughed.

The door opened and Kaiba entered.

"Kaiba, I want to take Swallow with me."

The brunet looked at him. "I don't know, Yugi. He doesn't seem to be at full health."

"I know, but please, he needs to be somewhere with someone who will care for him. Anthony obviously doesn't. Please, Kaiba." Yugi got on his knees and begged.

"Ok, ok, fine just stop doing that." Kaiba then turned to Joey. "And what are you doing here?"

"I came here to pick up Yugi. You're still going right?"

"Going where?" Yugi asked, standing back up and walking to Swallow's bedside.

"To register for the upcoming Pokémon Contest here in Las Vegas, there's only going to be one of them here, so I should make the most of it." He looked at them both. "Now, leave." He left the room.

"Don't mind if we do." Joey said rolling his eyes. He and Yugi along with Swallow left. "So, what are you gonna do with that bird, Yuge?"

"I want to put it in a Pokéball but he still really belongs to someone, so it's impossible for me to catch unless he lets me." Yugi told his friend as they walked down the street. Swallow looked at them.

"How are you gonna get him to like you?" Joey asked, stopping.

"I don't know. I have to figure something out though."

"_Swellow!_" The swallow Pokémon cawed.

"What is it boy?"

"Hey Yugi, let's get something to eat. I'm starving."

Yugi sighed. "Ok, I just hope Swallow is allowed in."

"Don't worry man; I know a place where Pokémon are allowed." His friend told him. The two trainers made their way to a café. "Here we are, Grand Lux Café."

"Never heard of this place, are you sure Pokémon are allowed?"

Joey nodded. "Come on."

They went inside. After the two trainers were seated, Swallow sat in a seat next to Yugi; they began looking at the menus.

"Mmm, let's see what they have for lunch." Joey looked the menu over.

"Hey guys." Phoebe walked up to the trio in a waitress uniform.

"Well hello gorgeous!" Joey grinned as Phoebe glared at him. "Sorry, anyway, I'm ready to order. What about you buddy?"

Yugi looked at the brunette. "Do you have Pokémon food?"

"Yes, I can make some personally for Swallow."

"Thanks." Yugi smiled. "Ok, can I have the DeLux Drive in Burger with everything on it with a side of fries, and some Root Beer?"

"Sure." Phoebe wrote down. "What about you Joe?"

"Yeah, can I have the BLT with a side of fries?"

"Ok. What would you like to drink?" She asked him.

"Yeah, what kind of beer do you have?"

"Joey!" Phoebe retorted.

The blonde laughed. "Just kidding, I'll have Root Bear too."

"Ok. I'll be right back." The Kaiba sister walked off.

"Dude, I didn't want to say this before, but Kaiba's sister is hot."

Yugi raised an eyebrow. "Uh…"

"I mean, if she wasn't his sister I-"

"Ugh!" Yugi slapped his head on the table.

"What's wrong Yugi?" Joey asked, poking his friend's facedown head.

"Stop being like that while I'm around." He said in a muffled voice.

"Huh?" The dirty blond blinked.

"Never mind," he pulled his head back up and looked at Swallow, "You alright?"

The blue bird nodded, "_swell._"

"Yeah, he's fine." Joey beamed.

After brunch, Yugi and Joey along with Swallow were waiting outside for Phoebe.

"When does she get out?" Joey asked, looking at his watch.

"Ten minutes." Yugi answered. Swallow held some food in his wing and ate some, gleefully. "Hey, Swallow is looking a whole lot better."

Joey looked past the café building and saw Seto walking out of another one that had a huge red ribbon on top of the door.

"Hey, where's rich boy going?"

"Anthony Winchester?" Yugi looked at what Joey was looking at.

"No, no, the other rich boy," Joey and Yugi watched as Seto continued to walk in a direction. "Let's follow him." The nosy blond followed.

"Not again." Yugi sighed. "Why do we always have to follow people when it is none of our concern?"

"Just a few more days until the contest," Seto told himself walking down the street.

"Hey, Seto Kaiba, right?" The questioned trainer turned his head and saw a boy with short green hair, green eyes, wearing a black shirt and a purple jacket, and jeans.

"Who are you kid?" He asked.

"Name's Drew, I heard you're a famous coordinator."

"And what of it?" Seto turned so his entire body faced the newcomer.

"I'm a pretty sweet coordinator myself." Drew flicked his bangs away from his face.

Seto smirked, "Oh really now?"

"Yup, wanna battle?" Drew took out a Pokéball.

"Fine, it's your funeral." The two coordinators walked to opposite ends of their battlefield.

"You first, champ." Drew smiled.

"Ok! Go, Salamence!" He tossed his ball into the air and out exploded a blue, quadruped dragon-like Pokemon with red wings and gray chest area, along with three spiky extensions splayed from the sides of its face. The dragon hovered above Seto. "Go, kid."

"Alright, take this on." He kissed his Pokéball. "Go, darling Roselia!" A small, flower-shaped Pokemon with a blue rose as a left hand and a red one as a right hand emerged from the ball and landed elegantly on its stem legs with eyes closed.

"A Roselia?" Seto looked at Drew with a sorry grin on his face. "You must be joking."

The Grass-type Pokémon's trainer shook his head slowly. Joey and Yugi watched from behind a tree.

"That brat used a little flower against a gigantic dragon? What the hell was he thinking?" Joey asked in confusion.

"I don't know, but I highly doubt Drew is that dumb." Yugi told him with low spirits.

"Ok if you plan on losing, by all means go with him. Salamence, Flamethrower!" The blue dragon flew passed Seto and released flames from his mouth.

"Roselia, Petal Dance!" The flower Pokémon spun around, avoiding the fire and hovered in mid-air as dozens of pink petals came out of its roses and hit Salamence.

"Salamence, now Dragon Dance!" The dragon recovered from the attack and twirled around, glowing a fiery orange color.

"Another Petal Dance!" Drew called to his Pokémon. The Grass/Poison-type Pokémon raised its arm and more petals spat out at Salamence, but the dragon was fast enough to dodge the attack.

"Dragon Breath!" the dragon Pokémon's eyes lit up with power and regurgitated a force similar in color to fire that struck Roselia, sending it falling in front of his trainer. The Pokémon became suddenly dizzy and couldn't move. "Ha! You're Pokémon is confused from its own attack and my Pokémon's Dragon Breath paralyzed it." Seto gloated.

"Oh you think so? Look again." Drew talked back as his Pokémon glowed and became completely healthy.

"_Roselia!_" the thorn Pokemon flexed its roses.

"What's going on?" The dragon trainer asked, shocked.

"My Roselia was holding a Lum Berry. After your Pokémon paralyzed him, he had a great reason to use it, which in turn cured his paralysis and confusion."

Seto's eyes widened, "No way!"

"Yes way. Roselia, Magical Leaf!" The rose Pokémon jumped up and swung its arm, releasing a barrage of rainbow colored leaves.

"Grr, Salamence Fly!" The dragon flapped its wings to fly up into the air, but was still hit by the attack.

Drew laughed. "Didn't you know that Magical Leaf has 100% accuracy?"

"But Magical Leaf still can't hit a Pokemon that uses Fly!" Seto growled, tightly making a fist.

"Too bad, you should have used that move before I attacked."

"Man, I never thought I'd see Kaiba lose his cool around some kid." Joey said.

"What's going on?" Phoebe asked, behind them.

"Your brother is battling some kid named Drew." Yugi told her. Swallow cawed.

"Really?" the brunette moved in between the two boys. Yugi nodded.

"So far, it doesn't look good for your brother." Joey said looking at her. Salamence collapsed to the ground.

"Salamence…" Seto leaned forward, about to tend to his fallen dragon.

"You give up yet, Kaiba?" The green-haired coordinator sneered.

Seto stopped in his tracks and shook his head, "Never!" Salamence got up and roared with all its might. "Salamence, Draco Meteor!" The brunet screamed to his Pokémon.

The sky went dark.

"W-What's going on?" Joey asked, sneaking behind Yugi.

"I don't know, Joey, but it doesn't look good." Yugi replied.

Phoebe looked at them. "It's Draco Meteor. A powerful Dragon-type move; but what I don't understand is why is Seto using it now?"

Salamence roared loudly and deep, causing meteors to fall from the sky toward Roselia.

"Run for your lives!" Joey pulled Yugi by the arm. "We gotta get outta here!" Yugi and Swallow looked at Joey oddly.

"Calm down, Joey. It's not aiming for you." Phoebe said.

The blond stopped tugging and looked at her embarrassed, "heh, heh sorry Phoebe."

She giggled a little.

The dragon move hit the area where Roselia stood, causing the ground to shake. "It's over Drew. You lost." Seto said, smiling as his Pokémon hovered above him.

"I'm afraid not." The Roselia trainer informed. The smoke caused by the blast cleared, leaving a crater behind.

"Where is he?" Seto asked.

Drew pointed up above. His two opponents looked up and were surprised to find Roselia coming down from the sky, completely unharmed.

"What? How is your Pokémon still standing?" Seto backed up.

"Whoa! How did that little thing manage to dodge that?" Joey asked, perplexed.

"No…" Phoebe began to worry.

"Before your dragon decided to alter the atmosphere, Roselia used Substitute to protect himself from any move you may have used. For a small price of half his HP, but that's well worth it, because now it's time for me to finish you off." Drew smirked.

"T-That's insane! There's no way your little pixie can beat me!" Seto angrily shook his fist.

"Try me. Roselia, go Extrasensory!" The plant Pokémon jumped above Salamence and shot a staggering ray of psychic energy at him. The dragon roared in pain.

"Oh-no!" the brunet panicked. "Salamence, quickly Dragon Rage." The dragon couldn't move.

"Hmm, looks like he flinched." Drew laughed. "Roselia, Solarbeam!" Because of the bright, mid morning sky, the move did not need to charge. Instead, Roselia clasped his hands together and a beam of light shot out of its combined roses, slamming into Salamence and it fainted, burned from the intensity of the solar blast.

"Salamence!" Seto rushed to his Pokémon's side. "Salamence, are you alright?" The dragon weakly looked at him.

"_S-Seto…_" He passed out.

His trainer glared at Drew, "You bastard."

The other shrugged and closed his eyes. "And you said that would defeat me, how horrid." He opened his eyes. "Oh how the mighty have fallen." Seto stroked his Pokemon's head not paying attention to the taunting, he however did feel bad.

"Seto!" Phoebe was right behind her brother. "Are you and Salamence alright?"

"Phoebe…" He took out his Pokéball and called back his Pokémon. "I'm okay." He finally said looking at her. His sister grimaced.

"I guess our paths will cross each other again; when you get better of course." He and Roselia walked off laughing.

"You-" Phoebe was about to say, but her brother grabbed her arm and shook his head, "Seto?"

"I have to get Salamence to a Pokémon Center quick." He told her in an unknown mood.

"Right, let's go." The two Kaibas made their way to a nearby center. Yugi and Joey were still tagging along.

In a room, Salamence was laying down on a bed breathing softly.

"Is he going to be okay?" Seto asked in a melancholy tone.

"He's okay for now, but it's best you leave him here for a few days." The nurse told him.

"What about the contest?" Seto stroked the dragon's face.

"I'm sorry Mr. Kaiba, but he is in no condition to perform appeals."

He nodded slowly. "I understand," was all he said as he got up from his seat and walked out the door.

"I heard what happened." Mikey said walking up to him from the building entrance.

"You may have heard, but you weren't there to see me fail." He said looking at her with his now pale blue eyes.

"Wow! He must have screwed you over badly." Mikey said facetious.

Seto looked into her eyes and received a familiar feeling when looking at them. For the first time since he met her, Seto Kaiba feels her pain, remorse, and lingering confidence. Something he has felt from someone before.

He shook it off and walked past her.

"Oh come on, I was joking. Kaiba?" Mikey followed him.

The dragon trainer stopped. "You don't what it's like," he began, "to be one of the best trainers out there – A champion – and then all of that accomplishment gets stolen from you by some kid!" He turns to look at her. "This is exactly what happened with Yugi; and I, Mikey, will not be a part of that again." He turned back around. "I can't even change my entry for the upcoming contest." The blue-eyed teen then walked off.

Mikey watch him, sadly.

"Sucks, I know." Phoebe told her.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" She asked, beginning to worry.

"Who knows? I've never seen Kaiba like that before." Joey said as he and Yugi with Swallow sat on the chairs next to Salamence's room.

"I have," Yugi said frowning. Phoebe agreed, nodding her head.

Fast forward to the next day and after school: Nothing has changed. Yugi finally got Swallow in a Pokéball after treating him to some of Mikey's Pokéblocks that she made from Phoebe, Seto's Salamence was still in the hospital, and everyone was still…everyone else.

Seto was in his office at KaibaCorp, still slightly sulking over his lost that reminded him too much of his past match with Yugi. "I can't believe some mediocre trainer actually beat me." He pulled on his hair with both hands. "Where did I go wrong? Worst yet, what else can go wrong?" There then was a knock on the door. "Oh great, come in." The door opened and entered a young girl about Mokuba's age with sky blue hair in two ponytails, and wearing a pink tank-top under a baby blue and yellow jacket. "It just has…" He said under his breath.

"Hello, Seto." The little girl smiled brightly at him.

"What is it, Cindy?" He sighed. Cindy Flurte was one of the last people he wanted to see. She is a reporter in training – an intern – and she's always in on the Kaibas' personal lives.

"Look at what I wrote this morning." She handed him a newspaper.

"And what am I looking at?" He asked, but noticed a front page headline that read: **2 Time Grand Festival Champion Loses to a Rookie's Roselia! **Seto banged his head on his desktop. "My god, this can't be happening!"

Cindy shook her head. "Actually, that's not what I wanted you to look at."

He lifted his head up. "What then?"

The blunette took back the paper and turned a few pages. "Here!" She pointed to a section on the page.

Seto read it and could not believe what it said: **Mysterious 4th Coppertino Daughter Discovered! **He threw the paper at Cindy, who frantically caught it.

"What in God's name is that suppose to mean?" He asked, hands shaking.

"Well, from what I heard Francis Coppertino stating, there is INDEED a fourth Coppertino child and she lives here in Las Vegas." Cindy told him.

"Y-You must be kidding me?" Seto's voice was breaking in anger.

"Nope," Cindy sneered.

Seto growled. "How did you find out?" He asked.

"Well, I snoop. So what happened was, I overheard Francis' conversation with another companies' representative and he said something about needing to protect the identity of his daughter…here…in Las Vegas. It's all here in the paper." She held it up, waving it around. Seto bolted for the door. "Where are you going?"

"That bastard hid this from me the whole time. My past is starting to come back to haunt me…first Yugi, now THIS!" He opened the door. "Come on. Get out. I have a little conniving bitch to find." Cindy followed him out the door.

Mikey made her way back home from school and looked around the house. "Hello, dad, mom?" her father came down the stairs.

"Mikey," His daughter looked at him; "we need to talk."

Back at KaibaCorp, Seto was at his tech office, trying to find the location of his arch nemesis. He didn't want to go to him directly, no that would be too easy and he would only get lied to again. Besides, he truly didn't know their address.

"Still no location of the surname 'Coppertino' anywhere in America, sir," a worker told him.

The CEO of KaibaCorp was trying to compose himself. "Argh, how about searching for any surnames that are recorded in Las Vegas, but have no real location?" Seto asked, sitting down in a chair.

"On it sir," the computer workers went back to looking.

_I can't believe him. As soon as I washed that memory from my mind – about Death-T – this had to happen._ He became mortified.

"I know you know Seto Kaiba and his family." Frank Coppertino told his daughter, who was now sitting on the couch with him.

"Yeah I know, but what about them?" She asked, knowing exactly what he was going to tell her.

"Mikey, Seto Kaiba is evil and will do whatever it takes to get what he desires: Power." He told her with a deadpan look.

"Everybody one way or another wants power, dad. Why does that make him any different?" Mikey asked, defending Kaiba.

"Well that is true, but not all of them have actually done hurtful, irreversible deeds."

"Mr. Kaiba, we found something."

Seto jumped out of his seat and hurried to the computer. "What is it?"

"I found many families actually that were under aliases, but only one of them stood out." The techie pulled up a screen. "Capone."

"Capone?" Seto questioned.

"It's Teresa Coppertino's maiden name." Another techie said.

His mind then opened. "Oh, my god!" he punched the desk the computer was on. "Look up the address immediately!" Seto ordered.

"What do you mean?" Mikey asked her father.

"He's a rogue who will do anything to get what he wants, even using his own family." Frank told her.

"Liar!" she screamed standing up.

Frank growled. "Mikey, I'm not lying! I watched Death-T take place personally and I know exactly what went down. In one event, he rigged his brother, Mokuba's battle just so he would lose against Yugi and be able to battle him, himself. He didn't give a damn that his own little brother was subject of what they called a 'Penalty Game'! Also, when Solomon Moto battled him and lost, Kaiba had the same Penalty Game play out as he later did with Mokuba! However, no one could see it except the victim, leading me to believe that ONE of the Kaiba's was in fact a witch."

Mikey tried so hard to drown out what he was saying. "Just stop it, okay? You're not making any sense!"

"I know it's confusing and hard to take in, Mikey, but it's all true." Frank hated to see his little girl freak out like this but she had to know the truth. "The witch of the family was and still is, Phoebe Kaiba."

"No…" Mikey shook her head roughly. "No, no, no!"

"Mikey, listen to me!" he got up and grabbed her shoulders."It took me awhile to understand how, but I soon found out that the Kaibas were in fact the Morrisons before being adopted by Gozaburo. Their mother was a witch and Phoebe has most of the power. How else do you believe they can understand language of mythical beings like Pokémon?"

"No, please stop! I don't wanna hear anymore!" She screamed again, crying.

"One more little detail, how do you think Seto Kaiba became such a great Pokémon Trainer? I'll tell you how, by cheating. He doesn't deserve any of the Pokémon he has right now! Let me break it down for you: Dragonite he got from a trainer who he FORCED into bankruptcy, Salamence he got from a man who was murdered by the mafia he made deals with, and finally his Flygon was stolen by a man he forced to commit suicide. Three innocent lives he ruined just so he can be the 'best' Pokémon Trainer. Those families have to live with what THAT man did!"

"Stop it!" Mikey cried out.

Outside Yugi's house, the boy's phone rang. "Hello?" He answered it.

"Yugi, I expected you to stoop so low, but not this low." An evil voice told him from the other end.

"Kaiba?" Yugi asked. "What are you talking about?"

"You knew about the fourth Coppertino daughter, yet I never heard of her until this day. Her family is also living in the house across from yours. So tell me something Yugi, who else knows?" He asked in a calm, sadistic voice.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about Kaiba?" Yugi shuddered.

"Fine," he hung up.

"Kaiba, no, wait! Shit!" Yugi slammed his phone shut.

Several minutes later, Joey, Tristan, Shanice, and even Phoebe arrived at Yugi's.

"Wait, so Kaiba knows about a fourth kid?" Joey asked.

"I just heard about it a few minutes ago FROM him. What's going on?" Phoebe asked. "And why didn't you tell us that they lived right across from you?"

"I can't say…" The purple-eyed boy looked down ashamed.

"Yuge, they're gonna find out anyway so it's best if they find out now." Tristan told him.

"But-" Yugi was cut off when Kaiba's black limo drove up. _Oh-no._

Seto exited the vehicle and headed straight for Yugi. He grabbed him by the neck. "Start talking, now!" He hollered, tightening his grip. Yugi, now terrified, could barely breathe.

"Seto, please stop!" Phoebe pleaded with her brother as she viewed the scene in horror.

"Hey, let him go!" Joey shoved him roughly, causing him to drop Yugi who coughed trying to breathe again.

Shanice went to his side. "You okay?"

He nodded, still gasping for air. Joey grabbed Seto by the shoulders and tried pushing him away, but he did the same to Joey.

"What the hell's gotten into you, Kaiba?" Joey asked, semi-caring. The other teen didn't answer instead they both let go, and Seto then punched him in the face.

"Joey!" Tristan went to his grounded friend's side. He sat up and almost dove at him, but Tristan held him back. "Stop it man, he's not worth dying from."

Phoebe ran to her brother. "Seto, please stop! This is madness!" She held him by the forearms. He looked at her still with his overly pissed off expression and suddenly calmed down.

"What's going on here?" Frank asked coming out his house toward Yugi's.

Kaiba instantly glared harshly at him. "You!" he wanted to kill him, but Phoebe was holding him back.

"Seto, no!" Phoebe struggled against him.

"You're gonna pay for what you did to me!" Seto hissed.

Frank looked at him. "You got some nerve saying that to me, after the things you've done to people, you're lucky you still have everything."

"That's it!" Seto pushed Phoebe out of the way and was about to beat his face in, when Terry came out.

"Kaiba, no!" She yelled, standing next to her husband. He stopped in his track and his sister went back to his side.

"Seto, come on let's go just go home." She pleaded.

"Yeah Kaiba, listen to that Wiccan bitch of yours." Frank insulted.

"You better watch what the fuck you say, Coppertino, or else I'll have you killed and you've seen what I can do!" He snapped back, defending his sister.

"Could all of you, please stop!" Mikey cried from behind her parents. Everybody looked at her.

"What are you doing here?" Phoebe asked her. The other girl was silent for a moment and then bit her lip; finally she began to speak and looked at the Kaibas with fear in her eyes.

"I am the fourth daughter you want to kill so much!" She yelled with tears in her eyes to Seto, who then looked at her, heartbroken.

"What?" He made a fist and gritted his teeth hard. _I knew the feeling in those eyes was familiar to me. I've only sense it from a Coppertino. They also are the seductive eyes of a Coppertino daughter. They get them from their father! _He thought to himself.

"Mikey, don't-" Yugi begged of her, but the brunette shook her head.

"Seriously?" Phoebe asked, blown away. Mikey nodded. Seto then became enraged and began to jump on her but Phoebe grabbed him. "Seto, forget it, come home now!"

"How could you fucking lie to me? I was nicer to you than any other person I ever met, yet this is how you repay me! You bitch, I hope you die! I'll get you-" The eldest Kaiba snarled.

"Come on, bro!" His sister pushed him away from everyone with all her strength and they went to Phoebe's car, got in, and drove off.

Everyone looked at each other shocked, not knowing what to say; until Joey finally broke the silence.

"Okay? That was weird." The others beside him nodded, all except Yugi who looked sadly at Mikey, who in turn shook her head softly at him with tears streaming down her face.

Yami appeared next to him in spirit and the two looked at each other, vowing to protect Mikey with their life from the wrath Seto Kaiba.

**To be continued…**


	7. All in a Day's Wurmple

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. Another lame chapter to add to the collection...hooray...This is the pre-contest chapter.

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon cries/speech

_italic_: thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**All in a Day's Wurmple**

* * *

"Six days have passed since anything exciting has happened. The only changes that occurred throughout this week were not seeing or hearing from the Kaibas, which was good news for my dad…" Mikey told herself petting a sleeping Herben on her bed. "…but not me." She looked over at her nearby Pokémon calendar which had a Delibird on it. _It's Sunday, December 10 and only 15 more days until Christmas._ Mikey thought to herself.

"Mikey?" Terry walked into her room.

She sat up and looked at her mother, "Yeah?"

"You've been moping around for almost a week now. Why don't you go out with your friends?" Terry told her with a genuine smile.

Mikey shook her head. "I don't know. I guess I just don't feel like seeing any of my friends." Herben woke up and yawned, stretching.

Terry smiled. "Come on, get dressed. I'll take you out to eat." She told her and left the room.

Mikey sighed and stood off to the side of her bed.

"I'm not really hungry, but I guess it's better than sitting around waiting for something to happen." She found some clothes to wear and changed into them, a green short-sleeved shirt with the Chikorita evolution line that says 'GRASS POWER', a light green headband, and jeans. She wore her usually red and white sneakers.

Her mother waited for her downstairs.

"Come on, Mikey, hurry up." Glameow passed and purred, rubbing her head against her trainer's leg. "Hello, Glammy." She said sweetly, petting its crescent shaped head.

"I'm ready." Mikey said trailing down the stairs.

"Oh good, let's go." The two left their home and began walking down the street to the nearby café.

"So where's dad?" Mikey asked as she and her mother were walking down the street.

"Oh he's at work. He had to go in early because of a meeting that's around the time he normally goes in, so he figures he'd take care of things first." The older brunette told her daughter. Mikey nodded a reply.

Several minutes later, they arrived at the Grand Lux Café. "Here's the place I told you about."

"Are you sure this is a good place to eat?" The Chikorita trainer asked.

"It sure is. Come on." They both went into the building and took their seats. The other customers around stared at them. Now that her secret was out, it seemed Mikey would never be able to go to a public place without being stared at or whispered about.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." She said looking down at the table, avoiding the gazes from the others.

Phoebe Kaiba then walked up to their table in her waitress uniform.

"Hi, welcome to Grand Lux Café. May I take your-" She was shocked to see Mikey and Teresa. "Mikey, Mrs. Coppertino, what are you doing here?"

"Good morning, dear. How are you today?" Terry asked, smiling.

"I...Well I'm fine. What brings you two here?" Phoebe smiled, nervously.

Mikey looked at her. "We're here to eat…I guess."

The blue eyed female could sense she was in a terrible mood.

"Are you okay?" She sat down in a chair next to Terry and looked at the girl across from her. The other shook her head.

"Never mind me, how have you and your brothers been?" Mikey asked, trying to put on a smile.

"You really wanna know?" Phoebe raised an eyebrow at the question. Mikey nodded. "Ok, well I've been working, between here and being the vice president and one of the secretaries of KaibaCorp, I've been busy but I love that; Mokuba…well he's been Mokuba, a normal 12-year-old boy playing video games and hanging out with his friends; and as for Seto, let's say he isn't exactly a happy camper." She told her, shrugging her shoulders.

"What did Kaiba say about me?" Mikey sighed, knowing what was coming next.

"Um, well, I was talking to Yugi on the phone about the situation that went down about a week ago and as soon as I mentioned your name, Seto dropped what he was doing and stormed upstairs. Damn, I never seen him like THAT before and I've seen basically all of his moods." Phoebe said, rubbing her neck.

Mikey frowned. "Well, it was my fault that I didn't tell you guys the truth." Some of the people in the place muttered something causing Phoebe to look toward the person, glaring at them. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she looked back at Mikey, "just somebody who thinks a Kaiba and a Coppertino shouldn't interact with each other." She shook it off. "But whatever, I don't care what they say."

"I do." Frank sternly said, entering the café. Phoebe jumped out of her seat and everyone looked at him. "Shouldn't you be working, Ms. Kaiba?" He asked, glaring coldly.

"Y-Yes, sir," Phoebe said. Mikey looked at her sadly.

About an hour later, the three Coppertinos were finished with their breakfast and walked out of the café. Mikey turned to look at Phoebe. "See you at school, Phoebs." The two teens smiled at each other.

Frank walked up from behind and grabbed her by the arm. "Come on, Mikey." He dragged her away from the building. Phoebe sighed and went back to work.

"Daddy, why are you being so mean? Phoebe didn't do anything wrong." Mikey asked her father as they walked back home.

"Mikey, you already know the story of what happened. I am not repeating myself. Now you will stay away from all of them. Do I make myself clear?"

"But dad-"

"Do I?" He looked at his spiteful daughter. She looked down and nodded slowly. "Good, now you go home with your mother. I have to go back to work. Okay?" He patted Mikey on the head.

"Ok." Mikey said gloomily as she and Terry walked away from him, but Frank had other plans.

Phoebe later left work for the day. "Man, I'm so tired. I can't wait to get home and rest for awhile. I got to get ready for the contest tomorrow." She told herself. She then made her way to the front of an alley and stopped when she thought she heard a noise. "What on Earth was that?" The brunette shook it off, "Probably just tired." She started to move her foot, when a yellow Pokemon grabbed her using one hand to cover her mouth and pulled her down the alley. She tried to scream, but was muffled.

"_Don't scream anymore, or I'll shock the life out of you._" The Pokémon told her in a gruff voice. It let go of her mouth and turn her over to look at it. It was an Electivire.

"What do you want from me?" She asked, voice shaking.

"A simple request," Frank told her coming up from the back part of the alley.

"And what request would that be, Coppertino?" She asked angry, yet scared.

"That you and your brothers stay away from my daughter. If you were to disregard this, I will kill you personally. Well, actually my Electivire will. So do we have a deal, Ms. Kaiba?"

"You wouldn't."

Frank sneered at her. "Oh I would." Electivire gripped her wrist tightly and sent small volts of electricity through her. She screamed in pain and kicked the electric Pokémon in the knee, causing him to let go of her. She ran away from them. "You better not forget, Phoebe Kaiba!" Frank looked at his Pokémon. "You, on the other hand, need to work out more." The Pokemon apologized.

Phoebe ran all the way home in tears, not for a second taking her mind off of what just happened.

Inside the Kaiba mansion, Seto and Mokuba were sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. "Hey Seto, did you know that there's a contest going to be held in Los Angeles?" Mokuba looked at his brother.

"I might want to go to that one." He said, not looking at his younger brother. The door then swung open and Phoebe ran up the stairs to her room, not noticing her brothers. "Phoebe?" Seto got up from the couch and followed her when he heard the door to her bedroom slam shut. Seto made his way to her room and opened the door. The middle Kaiba was lying in bed, face down, crying. "What's the matter?" Her brother asked, sitting down next to her. Phoebe stopped sobbing and looked at him, sitting up.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me, bro." She tried to reassure him, but of course Seto was not convinced.

"Listen sis, I'm not dumb. What happened?" He then noticed small burns on her wrist and gently held them. "What did this to you?" The brunette just looked away. "Answer me!" He demanded.

Phoebe looked at him. "I was just on my way home from work when…" She stopped.

"When?" Seto looked at her, slowly starting to lose his patience. "What happened?"

"Frank…Frank Coppertino threatened to have me killed if I stepped one foot near Mikey." Seto bit his lip hard and let go of his sister's wrists.

"That snake! I thought I told you to also never go anywhere near his good-for-nothing daughter." Seto retorted.

"Seto, first off, it's not my fault. We go to the same school and second, she isn't that bad of a person."

Seto looked at her mind boggled. "Please tell me you're joking. Anyone with that blood rushing through their veins is a monster."

"But Set-"

"I'm going to give that wretched brute a piece of my mind…" He went for the door and looked at her, "…and maybe a piece of my fist." He left and closed the door behind him.

"What have I done?" Phoebe turned to look out the window.

Meanwhile at Coppertino Industries, Frank was in a meeting with leaders of other major Pocket Monster organizations. "So now that contest season has started, what is on our agenda for today?" A corporate leader asked.

"Well I think we should manufacture outfits and costumes that coordinators could use in the competitions, enabling more chances for appeal points." A man suggested.

Frank, who was sitting next to him nodded. "I think that would be a great plan. The coordinators would buy the products and since they need a special costume for the grand festivals, they'd HAVE to buy. We just have to get talented fashion designers on our side."

"Very good plan, you two," the leader of the meeting stated. "We'll get to work, immediately."

After the meeting, Frank made his way to his office. He opened the door. "Ah, Francis, so nice of you to finally return," he stopped and looked at the chair, back facing him.

"Kaiba?" the chair, turned around and Seto Kaiba was sitting there with his hands together.

"How observant you are." He said in a seductive voice.

"What the hell are you doing in my office, Kaiba?" The young CEO brushed his finger over a picture on the desk that had Mikey and her Chikorita on it.

"Tell me something, how much does your little girl mean to you?" He asked, still looking at the picture. He suddenly found himself tracing his finger along the girl's lips in the picture. The other CEO walked up to his desk.

"You better start talking." Seto smirked deviously and stood up from the chair, in front of the desk.

"So, your hatred for me was so strong that you just had to get my sister involved, hmm?"

"Your sister is just under your influence. She does whatever you want or force her to do. It's quite sad." Frank told him.

Seto laughed, "Oh really now? That's not what I was told." He pointed an accusing finger at him. "You threatened her and for that you'll pay." He was strangely calm.

"Come now, Kaiba, what could you possibly want to do to me. It was just a simple request that we both obviously want." Frank said.

Seto closed his eyes. "Yes, that is true," eyes reopening, "but your precious little brat was the one who lied, not her or any of us."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm glad you asked, incompetent fool." He reached his arm out behind him and picked the same picture up again and faced the front to Frank. "You do anything like this again and this little girl gets it. You hear me?"

"You leave her alone, you bastard. She has nothing to do with this!" He yelled, raising his fist.

Seto looked at the photo again. "It's a shame really." He tossed the photo at Frank, who caught it, and walked for the door then turned to face his enemy. "Such a pretty, sweet girl has to be at my mercy."

"Get out!" Seto left the room, laughing manically. Frank sat down in his chair and looked at the photo in his hand. _I swear to God if he hurts you…_

That afternoon, Seto decided to check on Salamence. He got to the PokéCenter and wasn't pleased when he saw Mikey sitting at the front desk. "What are you doing here?" He asked crossing his arms.

Mikey looked at him. "I was just checking on Salamence." She stood up as the other trainer walked up to her.

"You have some nerve showing yourself here." They stood barely inches apart from each other.

"Uh, well…I was just being nice and all. Phoebe told me she was unable to go see him herself…so…" She blushed a little as she looked up at him, staring down at her.

_Oh this is going to be easier than I thought._ He smirked to himself, and then quickly straightened his expression. "I thought I told her to never talk to you." He backed away a few inches and looked at Salamence's room.

"She said that too, but she told me that she didn't care and, to tell you the truth Kaiba, neither do I." Seto walked past her toward the room and looked through the window. The blue dragon was sleeping peacefully on the bed, breathing softly. "The nurse said that he'll be able to discharge tomorrow."

"Hmph, by then it'll be too late so I guess I'm out of the contest." Blue the Bludragon appeared next to him. "Blue, when did you get out of your ball?" The dragon looked over at Herben next to Mikey. "Are you trying to tell me that you wanna play with him?" She nodded. "Fine, but not for long," Blue roared happily and the two Pokémon ran out of the center.

"Kaiba, I thought you didn't want anyone that has any relation to me associate with your relatives, including your Pokémon." Mikey noted.

"True, but I rather not punish my own Pokémon. For some reason she likes him and I don't know why." He left the building with Mikey behind him.

"So I guess that means we are hanging out for a moment?" She smiled at him.

Seto stopped in place. "Listen, Coppertino, I really do not want to go into too much details as to why I cannot stand you."

"Look, I know I lied but according to my father that's nothing compared to what you and your siblings did." Mikey said walking ahead of him.

"Say what?" He jumped in front of her. "You better not start shit with me."

"You're the one that is starting." The green-eyed teen walked away from him.

Seto growled, "You bitch."

"Say what you want, but I'm gonna find Herben and Blue. I think they went this way." Mikey walked toward a small group of trees. Seto followed her. As the two Pokémon Trainers entered the fake forest, a tiny scream was heard. "Herben!" Mikey started to run toward her Pokémon's cry, but the other grabbed her arm. "Hey, let me go! I need to find hi-"

"Shh!" Seto quieted her and pointed above them to a cluster of yellow and red eyes looking at them. "We're not alone." Herben yelped again. Mikey took this opportunity to get away while Seto was distracted.

"Mikey!" He ran after her as the creatures in the tree branches scattered after her.

She continued to run until she saw Herben tied in silk stuck on a spider web.

"_Chika!_" he screamed when he saw his trainer.

"I'll get you down, Herben." A purple pin shot toward her. She screamed, jumping out of the way. "What was that?" Up above her, hanging by a thread, was a red spider Pokémon with black stripes and an unhappy face on its abdomen, and six yellow and purple legs. Mikey picked up the poison pin. "I wonder where this came from." She then looked at Herben who motioned his head up above her.

"_Ariados!_" the Pokémon jumped from the thread aiming its sharp horn toward Mikey's head. She began to look up, but Seto pushed her out of the way as the bug Pokémon buried its horn into the dirt.

"I told you we weren't alone." He told her, pulling her up.

"Damn, that's an Ariados. He must have been the one that made that spider web." Six more spiders appeared hanging by threads in front of the spider web. These ones were smaller, green with yellow and black legs, a black sad face on its abs and pink mandibles.

"Spinarak," Seto said, Blue descending to his side. "Where did you go?"

"_I was playing Hide-and-Seek with Herben and I was looking for him…Guess I found him._" She joked.

"No time for joking this is serious." Her trainer retorted.

"_Party-pooper,_" the white dragon rolled her eyes.

Several bug Pokémon fell from the trees and surrounded Blue, Seto, and Mikey. Some of them were green caterpillars with yellow rings on its body, orange antennae and large eyes: Caterpie; while some were brown with big, red noses with one stinger on the head: Weedle; orange with two mushrooms on the back with claws: Paras; purple and fuzzy with big red eyes: Venonat; ladybug like Pokémon: Ledyba; and a single red worm with white eyes, no pupils, spikes covering its back, two yellow stingers on its behind and one on its head and five pairs of little feet: Wurmple. Ariados also got his horn out of the ground.

"We're surrounded." Mikey said holding onto Seto's arm and looked at her Chikorita who was still attached to the spider web. "Kaiba," she whispered to the boy next to her who looked at her, "We have to get Herben."

Seto looked at the bug Pokémon, Blue, then at Herben. "We might be able to get him." Blue nodded and roared loudly, scaring the bug Pokémon minus the Wurmple and Ariados, "Now!" Mikey charged for Herben, but before she could grab him, two wasp-like Pokémon with twin needles on their legs connected to their thorax and a stinger on their backsides, and red eyes hovered over him making a buzzing sound.

"Oh no, Beedrill!" Mikey cried out. The Pokémon hummed while raising their needles.

"Mikey, get back!" Seto grabbed her by the shoulders.

"But why?" The brunette continued to look at her Pokémon.

"They said they're going to kill him if we make a move so come on." He pulled her back to where they were standing before. Blue and her trainer looked at each other.

"_Aria Ariados ari-ari,_" the arachnid Pokémon crawled up to them.

"All these Pokemon have poison attacks that can severely hurt us." Seto told Mikey, glancing at her then back at the Pokémon.

"Then what do we do?" She asked, not taking her eyes off of her Pokémon.

"Bait time!" Seto ran away from them and headed for the main road. The Caterpie, Weedle, Venonat, Ledyba, and Paras blocked his path. "Heh, Blue, Dragon Claw these insects now!" Blue roared and slashed Ariados and Wurmple, then attacked the two Beedrill. The Caterpie and Weedle aimed a String Shot attack at Seto, but he quickly got away from them. "Blue, take care of these clowns while I get Herben,"

The dragon nodded and turned her attention to the other Pokémon who attacked her with Tackle, Poison Sting, Psybeam, Comet Punch, and Scratch respectively.

"What about the other Pokémon?" Mikey asked.

Seto pulled out a switchblade from his pocket and slashed off the spider web and unwrapped the silk around Herben.

"There, you should be okay." Seto held the tiny leaf Pokémon.

The Ariados sneaked toward Mikey underground with a Shadow Sneak attack. Herben looked behind her and let out a cry. She turned around and shrieked when the Bug/Poison-type Pokémon jumped out of the ground. The bug was struck down by a Dragon Claw from Blue.

"Blue, Thank you!" she hugged the white dragon that saved her. Blue smiled.

Seto looked at the other bugs that were unconscious. "There's still one bug left." A string of thread came from above them. Seto tossed Herben to his trainer and raised his arm to block the attack. Blue and Mikey looked up. Wurmple dropped down from the tree with the String Shot still attached to its mouth. "Blue, get him." The Bludragon began to attack the bug Pokémon, but he stealthily disconnected himself from the thread and avoided the dragon's attack.

"You know for a blind Pokémon, that thing is really fast." Mikey said standing next to Seto, who still had the wrap around his arm.

"Well his other senses are keen." He used his blade to cut off what was on his arm.

Back to the fight between Wurmple and Bludragon, Blue was about to release an attack from her mouth, when Wurmple used String Shot to tie her jaws shut. It then spun toward her and hit her with the poisonous spikes on its back. The dragon swayed back and forth before collapsing to the ground, poisoned. The red Pokémon looked at the two trainers.

"Maybe we should run." Mikey tightened her grip on Herben. The bug released a Poison Sting from its mouth heading straight for her and Herben. Seto pushed them out of way, holding his arm up once again to take the hit.

"Ow! Not the arm again!" he held his arm, wincing when he touch the pins.

"Kaiba, don't touch them." Mikey told him back at his side.

"Why the hell not? It hurts!" Seto hissed, glaring at her.

"Let me take care of this Wurmple first." She stood in front of Seto, holding her arm out to protect him.

"You're nuts!" The dragon trainer held his arm up to his chest.

"We'll see." She narrowed her eyes at Herben. "Go, Razor Leaf!" The Chikorita leaped in his opponent's direction and swung his head, releasing the lone sharp leaf that hit Wurmple. The poisonous Pokémon tried using String Shot to immobilize him, but the faster Grass-type dodged and tackled it, sending him soaring above and hitting the ground hard, knocking him out. "Pokéball go!" Mikey threw a Pokéball at Wurmple and the Pokémon disappeared in a flash of red light. The ball shook four times then stopped. Mikey picked up the ball. _I had to do it._ She thought to herself.

"You actually caught him."Seto said still holding his arm.

"Piece of cake," she smiled at him. The other trainer then toppled over, being caught by Mikey. "The poison," she looked at the tiny leaf Pokémon. "Herben, get some Pecha Berries." The Pokémon nodded and ran off. She sat him and herself down and placed a hand on his forehead. "You're very warm." Seto slowly opened his eyes and looked her. Herben came back with two pink colored berries. "Here, you have to eat this if you want the poison to go away."

"I don't think they work on humans." He muttered weakly.

"Only one way to find out," she held it to his lips. "Herben give one to Blue." Her Pokémon picked the other berry up and took it to the weakened dragon. Seto took a bite of the berry while Mikey pulled out the poisonous nails.

"Ow! Jesus Christ that hurt worse than the actual attack!" Seto cried out.

"Sorry, but I have to remove them so it doesn't continue to spread." Herben used his Razor Leaf to cut off the thread around Blue's mouth and gave her the berry. "How do you feel?" She asked after the berry was gone.

"Sick to my stomach, probably because you're here," Seto said, nauseated at her kindness.

"That's not it at all." Blood was coming from the marks on his arm. "I need to clean this up before it gets dirty."

Meanwhile at the Turtle Game Shop, Yugi, Joey, Shanice, and Tristan were out front while Phoebe was showing off her new contest outfit. She wore a strapless purple tank top, a black choker, a denim mini-skirt with black leggings, fishnet arm warmers, and silver ballet flats.

"Wow, Phoebe, you look really pretty in that costume." Shanice complimented.

"You sure do. Shanice why can't you ever wear something that sexy when we-" Joey muttered.

"Stop, Joey!" The dark skinned girl exclaimed, slapping the blond in the face.

"Ow!" He rubbed his cheek. "Sorry."

"Anyways, I agree with Shanice." Tristan said. Yugi nodded.

"Well thanks a lot guys." Phoebe smiled at her friends.

"No problem. We better get going. Shay is going to make us dinner." Joey told everyone, much to Shanice's annoyance, "You coming, Yuge?"

"Nah, I'm gonna stay home." The spiky-headed teen smiled.

"Same here, I know Seto wants me back and I gotta get home and practice Ruby's appeals." Phoebe added.

"Aww, ok, see you at the contest." The dirty blond winked at the brunette and laughed. The three friends left in Joey's car.

"I better get going too. Hope to see you tomorrow." Phoebe hugged Yugi.

Yami then appeared beside him. "_Yugi, something's not right._"

Phoebe let him go and smiled.

"Is everything okay?" The boy asked worried a tad by what his spirit friend told him.

"Yes, I'm fine." She turned around. Yami shook his head.

"Yami says you aren't." Yugi continued.

The brunette sighed and looked back at him. "It's over and done with."

The spirit looked into her dull eyes that were usually bright and blue. "_Francis Coppertino and Seto Kaiba are in a major conflict._"

"How is that new?" Yugi asked.

"How is what new?" Phoebe questioned.

"Yami said there's something going on with your brother and Mike's dad."

"Yugi, aside from my brothers and the Coppertinos, minus Mikey I believe, you are the only one who knows about my Wiccan powers right?" Both Yugis nodded. "Well awhile ago, he threatened to expose my powers to the tabloids and now he threatened to have me killed." She rolled up the band on the end of the arm warmers and showed them the burn on her wrist. "His Electivire did this."

"Oh my god! I knew he could be brutal but damn-" Yugi started, but Yami cut him off.

"_When did he threaten you the first time?_"

"Yami wants to know-"

"When he threatened me the first time?" Phoebe interrupted him. They both nodded. "When the Coppertinos first moved here and Frank started working at Coppertino Industries."

Yugi lowered his head. "Man, we wanna help Phoebs but-"

"It's okay Yugi. You and Yami just worry about protecting Mikey from my brother. Who knows what he intends to do with her." Phoebe smiled, halfheartedly.

The blond blinked. "Why Mikey?"

Phoebe giggled. "Well you do like her, right?" She winked at him.

"Um," Yugi blushed a little and the spirit of the puzzle laughed softly.

"Now that was a great idea." Mikey said proudly, holding her new Wurmple. After she cleaned his wound, she used Wurmple's String Shot to wrap Seto's arm in a cast.

"I could have told you that." He said standing up, rubbing his arm. "

"You're welcome, rich boy." Mikey grinned.

"Yeah, yeah whatever, I don't need to thank you." Seto looked away.

"No, but you owe me big time." Mikey smirked.

Seto looked back at her, "Hah, for what?"

Mikey looked at him seriously. "You know how you lost against Drew?"

"Yes."

"You know how you want to get revenge on him by defeating him in a Pokémon Battle but can't because you are unable to enter the contest or change your entry?"

"You're point?" Seto grew impatient again.

The brunette smiled widely. "I decided to enter the contest for you and defeat Drew so you won't have to be a loser to him anymore."

Blue and Seto looked at her like she was crazy, "You what?"

"You heard me, Kaiba. Tomorrow, I'll be in that contest and hopefully I'll battle that green-haired jerk and maybe win a ribbon." The other two looked at her and honestly could not believe what she was telling them. Herben and Wurmple just looked at each other, listening to the conversation. The other bug Pokémon waved goodbye to Wurmple and went off to their homes. "I guess those guys were only protecting their playground."

"Who did you enter with?" Seto asked, shaking off the initial shock and redirecting the subject back to Drew and the contest.

"Herben of course," Mikey said, giggling. "Silly, Kaiba, who else could I possibly enter with?"

"You're now even crazier than when I first met you." Seto said as Blue looked at the mentioned grass Pokémon.

_We'll see about that._ The trainer thought to herself looking up at the sky, as dusk slowly approached. The morning of the contest was not that far away.

**To be continued...  
**


	8. Win, Lose, or Drew?

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. This is one of the chapters that is going to be longer than normal because of the specific details of the contest appeals and battles.

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon cries/speech

'normal': thinking

'_italic_': Pokemon thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

**_Win, Lose, or Drew?_**

"Hey Yuge, why do you think they let us out early?" Joey asked as he and his three friends left school that Monday morning.

"Joey, today is the day of the Pokemon contest. The city has ordered all public schools to let out their students early since their schools are very Pokemon tolerant." Yugi told him, holding Cindy.

"And there are a lot of Pokemon trainer-coordinators that go to these schools." Shanice added, Nina propped up on her shoulder.

"Cool, I basically got out of school for no reason. Now that's my kind of rule." Tristan shook his head.

"Really now Joey, that isn't much of a reason to let us out of school. They should have only given certain students permission slips to leave and only the coordinators." Joey and Shanice glared at him.

"Well, at least now we can watch Mikey in the contest." Yugi said as his fire Pokemon rubbed her eyes.

"Hey, that's right! We gotta go there today." The blonde looked around. "Um, where is Mikey anyways?"

"She said she was going over to the Kaiba mansion to practice her appeals." Tristan said stopping by his motorcycle.

"Are you serious and where are you going?" His best friend asked.

"Home for awhile." He got on his bike. "If I'm going to leave class early, I might as well do something to keep my mind occupied." He put his helmet on and started the engine.

"Smartass," Joey said under his breath.

"You should take us there so we can watch, Joey," the brown-eyed girl asked, grinning.

"Hell no! You know I hate going to that rich jerk's house."

"You didn't hate it when we went there about 2 years ago," Yugi said.

"That was before his evil brother poisoned me."

"Can we just forget the past. I really wanna see the moves they are gonna use; especially Mikey. This will be her first contest," Shanice tapped her fingers on the car window. "Now are we going or not?" Joey sighed and gave in. The three drove to the Kaiba mansion.

* * *

"Good job, Ruby!" Phoebe Kaiba congratulated her Pokemon. The black and red dragon bellowed, wagging her tail. The two heard a groan. "You okay, Mikey?" Phoebe walked up to her friend who was looking at Chikorita.

"I think my strategy sucks." She looked at the taller trainer. "How is he supposed to beat Roselia if he can't even get passed the preliminaries?" The others made their way to the exterior of the mansion.

"Hey, instead of actually showing ourselves, how about we watch from here?" Joey asked, still wanting to not enter. Yugi and Shanice looked at each other irritated.

"Don't worry Mike, I'm sure you'll think of something. You got 3 hours."

"Man, look at Phoebe." The dimwitted blonde gazed at her in amazement. She wore a white tank top, midriff showing, light blue skirt with black leggings, and ballet flats. Her long, medium-toned brown hair was down, instead of being tied with the usual pink ribbon.

"She ain't half bad." Yugi agreed.

"Men…" The lone female beside them sighed.

"Thanks for the reminder." Mikey picked up Herben.

"Oh come on. You can't give up now Copper-girl." Seto told her, coming out of the mansion with Mokuba behind him.

"What did he call her?" Both Yugi and Joey asked, getting a little mad.

"What did you call me?" She unknowingly repeated them.

"Forget that. The important thing is that you work harder on your performance so you humiliate Drew the same way he did me." The brunette rolled her eyes.

"I know, Kaiba, but how can I even get to that round to face him if I can't even come up with any good combos." Kaiba took the tiny leaf Pokemon from her. "What are you doing with Herben?"

"I'll take care of him." He turned to Phoebe. "How are you and Ruby doing?"

"Pretty good bro," she smirked. Yugi pushed Joey.

"What's going on? I can't see."

"Take it easy pal. I'm trying to snoop here."

"Can I see too?" Shanice asked.

"If you both don't shut up, they'll hear us."

"Where are you taking Herben, Seto?" Mokuba asked, being handed the Pokemon.

"Just take him to the bug Pokemon in the garden. They'll know what to do." His brother said.

"Ok," The black haired Kaiba took the grass Pokemon around the mansion to the garden.

"Phoebe, you and Ruby should take a break." Phoebe looked at her sibling as she rubbed Bloodragon.

"Sure, I'll be out at about 1:00." They both went back into their house.

"And then there was you." Kaiba looked at Mikey.

"What is it now?"

"You DO remember the deal we made last night, right?" The amateur coordinator nodded. "Good, then you should have no problem following it, since it's what you want." He grinned.

"What is he talking about? What deal?" The Nidoran trainer asked, pushing Joey and Yugi out of the way.

"Pfft, you know Kaiba. That rat can make a deal with someone no matter what is it." Joey told them, stepping out of the bushes. "Hey, rich boy!" Kaiba and Mikey looked at him.

"Why are you here, Wheeler?" The blue-eyed teen asked not pleased.

"Joey?"

"I just wanted to see my favorite rich girl. I heard she was here." He smiled widely. Seto sneered.

"Why are you so nosey? Can't keep your doggy nose out of people's business?"

"Say what?" Yugi and Shanice stood next to him.

"Can you just let us in please?" Shanice asked of her friend.

* * *

"So, how's the training going, Mike?" Joey asked patting her on the back.

"Bad," she looked down.

"Why 'bad'?"

"Because I can't think of any neat combinations."

"It takes time, Mikey. You have until 1:00." Yugi told her, trying to cheer her up. She smiled.

"Thanks Yugi." Mokuba then reappeared and was surprised to see the other guests.

"Oh hi, guys, what brings you here?" Herben jumped out of his arms and ran for Mikey, who picked him up.

"We came to see how you guys were doing. How's Salamence by the way?" Shanice asked.

"He's better now." The dragon trainer continued to glare at Joey.

"Why do you keep staring at me? Do you want some of me or something?"

"That's just it, huh Joey?" The blonde was baffled.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything has to be a sexual joke with you." Joey felt insulted.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Seto, please just leave him alone." His little brother pleaded, trying to prevent a fight.

"No, I'm sick of this degenerate. For example, why don't you stop flirting with Phoebe and Mikey? They don't want you, mutt. I don't blame them either."

"What's with the dog remarks? And you're just jealous because you know I get more girls than you ever could." The blonde fretted. The other scoffed.

"That's just what you are, a little horn dog who thinks about sex and nothing else." Joey became angrier.

"Why you…"

"Joey, just forget about it. Be the better man and walk away." Yugi advised his hotheaded friend.

"No way, Yuge. I'm not gonna let this wannabe think he's better than me just because he's the virgin here." He quickly glanced at Mokuba, "…besides Mokuba and maybe Mikey."

"Maybe Mikey? What is that suppose to mean?" The quiet girl suddenly asked.

"Uh…"

"Hmph, at least I'm clean." Kaiba closed his eyes.

"That's it punk." Yugi and Shanice held Joey back. "You better take that back."

"Watch me." The young corporate owner opened his eyes.

"What's going on here?" Phoebe came out and looked at Joey. Her satisfied brother smiled

"Nothing. Just forget any of this happened." Shanice looked at Yugi, who was not happy.

"What's wrong Yugi?" She asked.

"You guys know I hate those kinds of conversations."

"Oh right, sorry Yuge." Joey apologized, feeling guilty.

"What do you mean, Yugi?" Mikey asked. His face reddened.

"Don't worry, Mike. I'll see you at the contest. Come on guys." The three pals left.

"Did I do something?"

"No," Phoebe put a hand on her shoulder. "Yugi just has lots of emotional issues." Mokuba nodded.

"Wow!" Herben looked at her. 'Poor Yugi.' Chikorita then whirled his leaf roughly, it glowing red momentarily. "What was that?" His trainer asked, looking at him and checking his leaf.

"What you mean?" Phoebe looked at him.

"It's a new move." Kaiba rejoined.

"What move?"

"Fury Cutter."

"A bug type move?" Mikey again looked at her Pokemon.

"I figured it would be the only possible move he could learn, strong enough to defeat Roselia. It can also be useful for the preliminaries."

"Why do you think that, big brother?"

"Mokuba, Roselia is a poison/grass Pokemon. Bug type attacks are super effective against both types[1], bringing Fury Cutter's power to times four."

"No way am I cheating." Mikey and Chikorita looked at him.

"How is that cheating? I think that's genius. Now you'll beat Drew." Phoebe simpered.

"I don't want to take the easy way out in a match. I suppose I could use it for appeal points, but you can forget about battling." Seto scowled.

"You better," the brunette female held Herben tightly, "or else I'll never forgive you."

"Kaiba, you already never forgive me for lying to you. Why should this one thing make a difference?"

"Hmph fine, fail. See if I care." He turned around and walked away with Mokuba right on his tail.

"He maaaad." The other coordinator laughed.

"Phoebe, do you think I should use Fury Cutter against Drew?"

"Hmm, well I do think it is a good idea; but on the other hand, it IS your Pokemon so I don't know." Mikey pondered the decision.

* * *

It was now 1:00PM and all the coordinators were gathered in the contest hall. Mikey sat on a bench, nervously playing with her fingers. "Mikey, relax. You'll be fine." Phoebe tried calming her buddy down.

"I can't. This is my first contest and I never thought I'd be here with all these other experienced coordinators."

"Uh, not all of them are experienced. I'm sure some of them are new. Just like you."

"Well, look what the Delcatty dragged in." Drew walked up to the two brunettes.

"What do you want, Drew?" The middle Kaiba walked in between him and Mikey. "So Phoebe, are you my next victim?"

"In your dreams, green hair," Mikey looked and received a smile from him.

"Well hello there. You must be the Coppertino kid I heard all about. Are you in the contest?" She blushed slightly.

"You bet she is. She's the girl who's going to demolish you, if I don't first." Phoebe turned to her friend. "It's almost time."

"Good luck to the both of you," he flicked his bangs and walked off.

"Creep," Phoebe commented under her breath.

"Hey guys!" Joey grabbed Phoebe from behind, hugging her yet scaring her. She unconsciously grabbed him by the arm and flipped him over her. She gasped when she saw who it was.

"Oh my god, Joey?" Joey sat up dazed.

"Damn girl, you strong." He rubbed his head. Yugi and Shanice helped him up.

"I'm so sorry. Really I am." The brunette bowed apologetically.

"Eh, it's alright. Felt good to be thrown around by a girl." He winked at her.

"Ready for the contest, Phoebe?" Yugi asked.

"I've been ready, Yuge." Mikey stood up.

"How about you?" She smiled slightly.

"I don't know Yuge, but I guess I have no choice now."

"Where's Tristan?" Phoebe asked.

"He's with your brothers outside the room." Shanice replied. The Kaiba brothers walked in.

"Speak of the devil." Joey joked, getting elbowed in the stomach by Shanice. "Why does everyone feel the need to elbow me?" He rubbed his tummy.

"Seto, Mokuba!" The Kaiba sister hugged her brothers.

"Ready, Phoebs?" Her young brother asked, holding onto her. She nodded.

"I expect no less than the semi-finals from you." Seto crossed his arms.

"Oh Seto, shut up." She playfully pushed him before he smiled at her. He looked at Mikey.

"I'll be in the audience." He left the room.

"Good luck to you both." Joey grinned at the two coordinators, then he Shanice and Mokuba went to the main room. Yugi looked at Mikey.

"How nervous are you?" He asked looking at her.

"Extremely," she shyly looked at him. He laughed.

"You'll do just fine, Mike. Here's a little something from me." He bats his eye and quickly kissed her cheek. He looked at her with a huge grin on his face. "See you out on stage." He walks away. Phoebe looked at Mikey who was still standing there biting her lip, blushing.

'Damn Yugi,' she waved a hand in front of her, snapping her out of whatever she was thinking about. "Ready to go?" Mikey nodded.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Las Vegas, Nevada Pokemon contest!" The MC was a woman with long, curly orange hair wearing a pink dress. The audience cheered and hollered. "I'm your host Vivian Meridian, your MC for the afternoon. The contest today, as all the coordinators should know, is a 'Beauty themed' contest. That means beauty type moves will give you big, big points from the judges. Cute and cool moves will also help, while smart and tough moves not so much. Dry is the prize because blue Pokeblocks and poffins will increase your Pokemon's beauty stats." She twirled around toward center stage and pulled out a blue-colored award ribbon which was a golden emblem tied with two small ribbons. "The winner will be awarded the Normal Rank Beauty Ribbon. So let's all give a round of applause to our contestants." Everyone applauded. "Let the contest begin!" Vivian raised her microphone into the air.

The contest began and the preliminaries were underway. A small green and peach colored mushroom Pokemon named Shroomish performed a Stun Spore attack from its opening on top of its head; A white seagull Pokemon with light blue lines on its wings and the tips of its feathery tail called Wingull flew across the stage; A blue round mouse Pokemon, Azurill, was bouncing on a large ball that was connected to its zigzag tail; and a green flower Pokemon, Bellossom, with a yellow and green grass skirt, as well as two tiny yellow hibiscuses with red petals hula danced.

"What lovely performances from several of our contestants so far. Let's hear from our judges to see how the competition is this year." She held the microphone to a man sporting gray hair, a red suit with a small ribbon on the left side, and a black bow tie.

"Hello, everyone, I am Raoul Contesta and I am the Pokemon contest director. I must say, I enjoy watching all of your wonderful performances." Vivian then brought the talking instrument to a smaller man with darker gray hair and suit.

"Hello, my name is Mr. Sukizo and everyone here is truly remarkable."

"And our final judge of the day is Las Vegas' very own Nurse Joy." A woman wearing a white nurse's outfit and a blue cross on the hat smiled.

"I am so grateful to be here today and good luck to everyone here today. Hope the rest of the contestants will put on a spectacular show also."

"Thank you, judges…" Vivian continued to say a few words to the audience. Joey watched on.

"Man, what does everyone think this is, Dancing with the Stars? I mean just look at how serious that one judge looks, how weird that one looks, and the final judge is a beautiful chick."

"Only you would make that reference, Wheeler." Kaiba said, not looking at him or any of the others.

"Man, contests are serious business for rich boy huh?" Yugi and Shanice nodded.

"Of course, he IS the two-time grand festival champion." Shanice told him as she and Yugi looked at the stage.

"That was until a rookie defeated him like a child." Kaiba glared at Joey who chuckled.

"…and now everyone, please welcome back one of the runner-ups in last year's grand festival: Phoebe Jane Kaiba!" Everyone, especially the men of the assembly, cheered and whistled as she came on stage wearing her contest outfit.

"Ready, Ruby?" She held the Bloodragon's Pokeball that was in a case in her hands. "It's show time!" She tossed the ball and in a flash of fire, the black dragon with red eyes and streaks on her body, emerged with a roar and the swing of her wings. Silver sparkles fluttered around her as she landed by her trainer's side. "Alright, let's start off with Will-O-Wisp!" The dragon's eyes glowed blue and suddenly tiny flickers of blue flames appeared around her. Her trainer whistled signaling her to turn around and manipulate the flames to circle around Phoebe. The coordinator raised her right arm and began to dance which in turn caused the fire balls to make different shapes around her: a heart, circle, even in the shape of a jack. "Dragon Dance!" Ruby nodded her head and the red stripes on her scales glowed orange. She then circled around Phoebe and the Will-O-Wisp consuming her in a tornado of orange energy. Phoebe then performed a pirouette, making the flames from the Will-O-Wisp attack move to the outside. This caused the orange cyclone to transform into a light blue-colored one. Ruby flew out of the attack and breathed a Heat Wave attack from the pit of her throat, blowing the energy around her trainer away and exploding into tiny glitters of silver and gold. Phoebe curtsied completely unharmed by the attack as Ruby hovered above her.

"What a beautiful performance from Ms. Phoebe Kaiba. Give her a hand everyone." The crowd on her cue up roared into hoots and hollers. Phoebe looked up at them and gave everyone thumbs up.

"That's a good girl, Phoebs." Seto complimented. She knew her brother was very proud of her. The others were speechless. Mokuba looked at them.

"So, what did you guys think of her?"

"I don't know. I've seen Phoebe perform before, but nothing like that." Joey answered completely blown away by the act.

"I agree with Joey. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time." Shanice added. Tristan agreed as well.

"I'm gonna comment on what Joey said actually." Yugi said. They all looked at him. "Phoebe's performances are all actually the same in a very special way."

"And what would that be, Yuge?" His blonde friend asked.

"She always incorporates dance steps in her appeals and adds that to an already intriguing combo attack. The way she uses her body in every one of her performances is unprecedented and-"

"Ok, ok we get the big words Yugi." Tristan said.

"Yeah, my brain hurts, but I know what you mean." Joey added. Kaiba sneered.

"Funny, I didn't know you had a brain to hurt." The blonde just gave him a dirty look.

In the other room, Mikey and Herben were watching the remaining performances on a television screen. "Wow! She's really good." "_Chika!_"

"Yes, I was quite amazed by her moves." Drew said walking into the room. She looked at him.

"When do you go?"

"Right now. Wish me luck, Mikey. Of course, you'll need it more than I will." He does what he normally does with his hair and walked out of the room, laughing.

'I have to beat him…' Mikey thought to herself. Herben looked at her a little nervous about his appeal.

* * *

"…and now please welcome our next contestant: Drew." The spotlight shone on him as he held his Pokeball in a seal case that had a petal seal on it.

"Heh, this crowd will see a show like no other." He opened his eyes, grinning.

"That creep," Joey clenched his fist. "If we weren't in a public place, I'd wipe that smirk right off his face."

'I actually agree with you…for once.' Kaiba thought glaring harshly at the stage.

"Roselia, go!" He threw the ball-in-case and it exploded into dozens of petals. Roselia was nowhere in sight.

"So where Is it?" Shanice asked. Yugi and Kaiba both looked on with stern expressions.

"Petal Dance!" More petals circled around the others, causing the stage to be filled with beautiful pink petals. The thorn Pokemon appeared. "Now, Stun Spore and Magical Leaf!"

"_Rosel-lieeeee!_" The grass Pokemon spun around; raising its arms and yellow spores came out of its flowers along with rainbow colored leaves that encircled the sparkling spores around it.

"That's beautiful." Mikey said as she and her Pokemon watched his performance.

"Let's finish this, Petal Dance!" Roselia, still floating, stretched out his arms and several petals were released from its red and blue flowers. "Now for the grand finale," Drew raised his hand and snapped his finger. Roselia disappeared. The majority of the crowd gasped in utter amazement. "Magical Leaf!" The rainbow leaves shot out from the center and chopped all of the petals, that then sparkled around the reappearing Roselia. He bowed and so did Drew, ending the performance. The audience cheered all except the Kaibas, Yugi, Joey, Shanice, Tristan, and Mikey. The latter was however afraid.

A few minutes later, "such grace," she looked at Herben who was in the same state as her. "We're up next. Let's go out there and try our best."

"Don't choke," came Drew's voice from outside the room.

"I won't." Mikey returned Chikorita and walked past him. Drew grabbed her arm as she passed. "What?"

"I hope to face you in the finals." She ripped her arm from his grip.

"I do too, but don't think this is a friendly competition." He shook his head and watched as she left.

* * *

"I hope you all are enjoying the contest so far." Vivian announced. "Just one more and we can move onto the battles. Please welcome Mikey Ann Coppertino." The shy coordinator entered the stage.

"Yeah, go rich girl!" Joey called from the seats then whistled at her.

"Go Mikey!" Yugi, Shanice, Mokuba, and Tristan all cheered. Kaiba just watched intently.

"Well, here goes something. Herben, spotlight!" She tossed her Pokeball and the Chikorita arrived, somersaulting in the air and landing on his head, balancing on his leaf.

"What a nice entrance from such a cute Pokemon." Vivian smiled brightly at the grass Pokemon.

"Razor Leaf!" Herben flipped back onto his feet and relinquished three leaves. "Vine Whip!" Herben ran toward each of the three leaves and hit them to his trainer with his vine. Everyone watched as the sharp leaves flew in Mikey's direction. "Finish with Fury Cutter!" Herben jumped up and slashed all the leaves into tiny pieces before landing in his trainer's arms and letting out a cry. The crowd, including Joey and his friends cheered.

"You go girl!" The blonde teen jumped out his chair.

"The coordinators are going to be waiting in the room next door to see if they have advanced. Let's go see them." The youngest Kaiba suggested.

"Yeah, let's go!" Joey ran past everyone storming for the doors. His friends sighed.

* * *

"Good work out there, Mike." Phoebe rubbed her friend's shoulder. The stunned brunette looked at her.

"Thanks, but not as good as you and Drew. You'll advance to the finals for sure."

"Aww, don't be so negative girl." She smiled. Mikey lowered her head. "You'll be just fine."

"Hey, you both did great out there." Joey rushed in and hugged Phoebe.

"Yeah, um, thanks Joe." She pulled her arms out from under his and pushed him off.

"Sorry there, Phoebs," he rubbed the back of his head.

"Good job, girlfriend." Shanice high fived her.

"Thanks Shay." Phoebe smiled. Mikey stood up.

"You did well too, for a beginner." The other girl added.

"Does that mean I did bad period?"

"Uh…" Yugi tapped her on the arm and softly shook his head.

"Don't worry about that. Just both of you stay focused on the next round."

"May I have your attention, please?" The MC called from the TV. "The following eight coordinators have made it to the second round – the battle round." Eight pictures of trainers appeared on the screen. Drew's was the second, Phoebe's was fifth, and…Mikey's was last.

"Hell yeah!" Joey and Tristan did a sort of club handshake and at the end, Tristan gently punched him in the stomach. "Ow!" The brunette smirked.

"Sorry man," Yugi smiled.

"That's great that you both made it."

"Thanks, Yugi, now all we have to do is hope one of us makes it in a battle against that jerk." Phoebe growled.

"One of you will." Kaiba said, arms crossed as he stood by the doorway with his brother next to him. He stared at Mikey. "I thought you weren't going to use my move."

"I said against Drew, not in the first round."

"Hmph, well I'll be watching you two. Don't disappoint me."

"You know he's talking about you Mike, right?" Joey told her as Kaiba and Mokuba left. She just stood there watching them leave.

* * *

The 2nd round commenced and it was Drew vs. a girl with a Shroomish, Phoebe vs. the trainer with an Azurill, Mikey vs. a boy with a Wingull, and a man with a bivalve Pokemon named Cloyster vs. another man with the Bellossom. The battles were quick and Phoebe, Drew, Mikey, and the Cloyster trainer were all victorious and moved on to round three.

"Well what do ya know, looks like we both advanced." Phoebe smiled at Mikey.

"Yeah, but the real fight is about to start." Drew walked up to Mikey and looked at Phoebe. "Did you see the screen?" He pointed to it and both girls were shocked to learn that they have to face each other in the 3rd round. "Heh, good luck ladies, whoever wins will face me."

"You still have to get passed your match Drew. Don't get cocky." Phoebe told him annoyed. The Roselia trainer laughed again and went to the battle stage.

"You two have to battle each other?" Tristan asked while eating popcorn.

"Hey, where did you get that at?" Joey asked hungrily.

"Concession stand," he told his best friend.

"Yeah, don't worry, Kaiba has a lot so you can always ask him for some." Yugi offered.

"Say what? Rich boy!" The brown-eyed blonde went to look for him.

"There, that should get him out of our way." Shanice giggled.

"To answer your question, yes we do and I'm not too pleased at that." The female Kaiba said her eyes closed.

"I can't battle Phoebe." Mikey told everyone shaking a little. "I mean me, a rookie, battling a two time grand festival runner-up, Phoebe. I can't do it." She began to exit the room, but a hand grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back inside.

"You're not going anywhere." Seto asserted.

"If you knew why I was-"

"You're just afraid to battle my sister for fear that you'll lose and never have a chance to battle Drew, right?" She looked at him silently. Joey stood next to him munching on a bag of popcorn. Mokuba was also there, drinking his soda.

"I wouldn't worry about that. I mean, I maybe a great coordinator but I'm not a perfect battler." Mikey sighed.

"You're just trying to cheer me up, Phoebe. I saw how you battled in the first round." The purple-clad coordinator scoffed.

"That trainer was weak. It was like he wasn't even trying."

"Look, you have a chance to win. Remember our deal." Kaiba motioned his little brother to follow him back to the contest hall.

"Am I hearing things, or did Kaiba just sort of give encouragement to you?" Joey asked Mikey as he threw the bag in the trash bin. Phoebe was confused.

"Hey, how could you count out your own sister?" Her brother looked at her.

"Come on, Phoebe, you know it would be pretty hilarious if an amateur like her defeated Drew, just like he did with me." He smiled and walked away.

"That man always has an excuse for everything." Tristan told everyone.

"Well, I thought it was sweet," Shanice followed, "yet odd on Kaiba's part." Yugi sighed.

'Damn Kaiba…'

* * *

"Welcome back folks. As we move on to battle 1 of the semi-finals!" Vivian was back on stage and everyone in the stands grew anxious for the match. "Our first coordinator is one who received one of the top scores in the appeal round: Phoebe Jane Kaiba!" Phoebe hurried on stage and waved to the crowd. "Now, for a new face to Pokemon contests: Mikey Ann Coppertino!" The room filled with gasped and silenced. Vivian looked at the card in her hand again. "Wow, a Kaiba vs. a Coppertino, now that's an interesting match-up."

"Does she have to announce it to the world," said Kaiba as his head was leaning on his hand that was on the arm of the chair.

"You have to admit it IS interesting. Your families are rivals after all." Shanice said. Several audience members conversed about the match-up.

"So, who do you think is gonna win?" One boy asked his friend.

"I don't know. Both of them are hot." The other replied.

"I got dibs on the Kaiba girl because she has a super-powered dragon." Boy 1 said.

"I vote Coppertino, because her sisters are hot." Boy 2 also said as they both laughed.

"Ready, Mikey?" Phoebe asked, holding Ruby's ball.

"No, but I guess I have to be." She held Herben's ball. The other girl chuckled and tossed the ball and the black and red dragon came out of it with a deep bellow. "Go, Herben!" The Chikorita burst from the ball and looked up at the frightening black dragon Pokemon.

"I guess I'll go first. Ruby, Faint Attack!" The Bloodragon flew toward the tiny leaf and strutted back and forth, raising her claw.

"Herben, jump!" The grass Pokemon jumped up, evading the attack, while spinning in the air, before landing behind her. The meter under Phoebe's picture lowered to 92%.

"Heh, ok then, let's try a Hell's Inferno!" The dragon turned around and spat out a huge crimson fire ball at Herben. The Pokemon became petrified.

"Herben, run away!" The Pokemon shook off the fright and ran away, trying to avoid the ball. He succeeded, but he suddenly became out of breath. Mikey's meter lowered to 88%. Mikey noticed that Ruby wasn't moving. "She has to recharge! Herben, Razor Leaf attack!" He charged at Ruby and released three leaves that each cut the dragon, causing her to wince and snarl in pain. The meter decreased to 85%.

"That was pretty stupid of her. Using an attack like Hell's Inferno early." Joey said.

"Yeah, it's like she wants to lose the match." Tristan said. Mokuba and Seto looked at each other.

"Fire Blast!" Ruby opened her mouth, as fire formed.

"Not so fast, Vine Whip!" Herben wrapped two vines around her throat dissolving the spark in her mouth and choking her.

"Impressive, that's exactly what she used to stop Blue from attacking in our match." Kaiba smirked.

"When did you two battle?" Joey asked.

"When I first met her." The health bar lowered to 79%. Phoebe bit her lip.

"Ready to finish this off Herben? Go, Ta-"

"Please stop!" Phoebe cried out, starting to tear a little.

"Um…Herben let her go." Chikorita unwrapped his vines from Ruby's throat. "Sorry about that Phoebe."

"It's okay. I just hate to see my Pokemon in that position." She smiled, and then her tone changed instantly. "Ruby, Heat Wave now!" The dark Pokemon breathed a wave of red heat that made direct contact with Herben. His health lowered to 75%.

"Phoebe, what the hell was that for?" Mikey asked as the other laughed.

"A good coordinator never falls for a trick like that."

"So…your Pokemon wasn't hurting?"

"No, she was. It was just an easy way to get your attention. A lot of trainers will do that to you." The others looked surprised.

"Now why would she do that? Isn't that cheating?" Joey asked.

"Not really, just strategic." Yugi said worried. "She now could easily win this battle."

"Mikey, if you can't even defeat Seto's Blue, a Pokemon that has not very effective moves against your Pokemon, then how do you expect to defeat Ruby, a Pokemon with fire based attacks?" The brunette gloated.

"You're mocking me now?" Mikey glared at her.

"Maybe," she smiled.

"Herben, Vine Whip!"

"Dragon Claw, Ruby!" The two Pokemon prepared their attacks, but Herben's vines were faster as they wrapped around her wings, claws, and legs, taking her aback and falling. The meter read 74%. "With only thirty seconds left, I gotta make it count. Ruby, Payback!" The dragon gathered the strength she had and tore through the vines and tossed her wing up to remove Herben from her.

"Herben, no!" The time ran out.

"Good job, Ruby!" Phoebe was delighted but before she could celebrate,

"And the winner is Mikey Coppertino and Herben!"

"What?" The dragon trainer looked at the board and it showed Ruby had 70% health while Herben still had 75%. "How is that possible?" She and Mikey were shocked to see Herben still dangling from the vine around her wing.

"Herben?" Mikey walked up below Ruby's raised wing. "_Chika!_" The grass Pokemon's vine was knotted around the object of interest.

"That's a very rare occurrence." Yugi said amazed by the sudden turn of events.

"What does that mean?" Joey blinked confused.

"It means Phoebe's out." Mokuba answered sadly.

"_Do you need help getting down?_" Ruby asked the hanging Chikorita.

"_If you'd be so kind,_" she raised her claw and slashed through where the vine and the knot met. Herben fell and was caught by Ruby.

"I can't believe I lost…on a technicality." Phoebe lowered her head. "I should be the one to face Drew, for humiliating my brother." She whispered. Ruby rubbed her head against her arm.

"_It's okay Phoebe. I believe Mikey and Herben WILL defeat Drew and Roselia._" She looked at her Pokemon.

"Phoebe?" She looked to see Mikey and Herben in front of her. "I'm sorry for winning. I never thought it would make you feel this bad. If it makes you feel any better, I'll drop out of the rest of the competition and forfeit to whoever wins that other battle."

"Mikey, don't do that. You earned the right to battle and beat your next opponent for that ribbon." She smiled.

* * *

"That was a great match, you two." Yugi said, sitting next to Mikey in the waiting room.

"Yeah, but if I wasn't so focused on winning, I would have actually won." Phoebe laughed to herself.

"What matters is you tried your best." Joey said standing with his back against the wall, next to Tristan.

"…and there you have it folks, Drew will go on to the final round." The gang looked at the TV screen and Roselia and Drew stood victorious over his opponent and his Cloyster.

"Ugh, he's so smug out there." Shanice sounded disgusted.

"Yeah, well he won't be so smug when Mikey kicks his ass, right Mike?" Phoebe said, slapping the back of Mikey's shoulder.

"It's not gonna be easy, but we're right behind you." Yugi said also. Kaiba walked into the room.

"You better win." Mikey looked at him.

"I know, Kaiba. I know." She got up and headed for the doorway. "Just don't expect too much. I'm not using Fury Cutter." She left the room.

"Why do you think she won't use that move?" Yugi asked.

"I don't know, but she's really starting to bug me." Seto replied.

"Starting?" Joey and Tristan joked, only to receive a death glare from him.

* * *

"Alrighty, everyone, I hope everyone is ready for the grand finale!" Shouted Vivian from center stage. The crowd answered in an uproar. "Our two finalists will have just five minutes to battle while also showing off as much beauty as possible. Are you ready?" Drew and Mikey stared each other down, "then let's get to it!"

"Roselia, go!" The thorn Pokemon landed on its stem feet and grinned.

'This is it. It's all or nothing now.' Mikey took out her Pokeball. "Let's go Herben!" Chikorita stood across from his opponent, ready for battle.

"Roselia, Poison Sting!" Roselia pointed its blue rose-arm and purple poison darts aimed for Herben.

"Jump, and Tackle it!" Herben jumped over the attack and sped for Roselia.

"Magical Leaf!" The thorn swung its arm releasing the rainbow colored leaves that collided with the grass Pokemon hard. His health went down to 90%.

"Oh no, Herben," Mikey was scared for her Pokemon.

"Petal Dance!" The poison/grass Pokemon spun around as pink petals slashed his opponent. The health lowered to 82%.

"Damn it, Mikey do something!" Joey yelled from the front seats. She snapped from her thoughts.

"Herben, Razor Leaf, now!" Her Pokemon shook off the pain and snapped back with 4 leaves that damaged Roselia. His health bar decreased to 91%. Roselia landed on his back. "Let's try this again, Tackle!" Herben smirked and tackled the rose Pokemon that spiraled into his trainer's arms. The meter went to 76%. "Give up, Drew?" She smiled proudly.

"I think Mikey just won this, guys." Joey said, getting excited. Yugi slowly shook his head. Herben felt weak.

"Herb, what's wrong?" Mikey asked him. "_Chiii._" The tiny leaf Pokemon shook. Drew laughed as Roselia jumped out of his arms. "What's going on, Drew?"

"My Roselia has the ability Poison Point, which automatically poisons its foes on contact." Mikey gasped.

"No way!"

"There was a 50/50 chance that that thing would have that ability. I just didn't think her luck would change for the worst." Yugi explained.

"That's nuts. Damn!" Joey punched the arm of the chair, frustrated. The two older Kaiba siblings continued to watch. Herben's bar slowly diminished from 82% to 81.9 and continued to go down a tenth.

"I don't even have to move. We can just sit here and wait long enough for your Pokemon to be declared unable to battle." Drew taunted.

"What am I suppose to do? There's no way I can defeat him with any of his grass type moves. I guess this really is the end." She looked down and closed her eyes.

"So, do you give up? I thought you Coppertinos were bad-assed Pokemon masters. Guess they were wrong. Ha-Ha!"

"The only way she's gonna win is if she uses that Fury Cutter move. If she doesn't, she'll lose for sure." Tristan said.

"I know, T, but she thinks that if she uses that move, it isn't HER doing that move but instead Kaiba because he taught it to him." Joey told him.

"That's the thing. She has to realize that he was only trying to come up with a strategy to defeat Drew; not trying to steal her win." Yugi added. Yami agreed appearing above him.

"_She'll do it. She has to._" He said. Yugi frowned. 'Hopefully…'

"My life is lowering by the second. I have to think of something quick." Herben looked at her, weakly. 'I'm so sorry Herben…'

"Roselia, Extrasensory! Finish that worm quickly!" Roselia hopped up into midair and unleashed purple energy from its roses. Her friends watched in horror as both of Roselia's victims stood there, frozen.

"For the love of God, Mikey, do something!" Kaiba screamed from his seat as the others looked at him. Mikey regained focus.

"Herben, Fury Cutter!" The grass Pokemon jerked up and slide under the Extrasensory attack and slashed its red-glowing leaf into Roselia's chest. Its HP was at 74% while Herben's was at 76.4% and counting. Drew growled.

"Is that all you got, Solarbeam!" Roselia recovered and began lifting his arms.

"No, I got more. Vine Whip!" Herben tied down Roselia's arms so he couldn't absorb energy.

"Oh yeah!" Her friends, as well as the rest of the crowd, cheered.

"That's for talking crap about my family, Drew."

"I ain't losing to a rookie like you. Roselia, Magical Leaf!" Mikey smirked.

"It's over Drew, Fury Cutter!" The Chikorita reputably cut up the Pokemon. As he continued to use the move, it got stronger. Roselia's bar: 30%; Herben's bar: 51.2%; the time read less than two minutes. "Finish him off with one more Fury Cutter!" Herben jumped above Roselia and wielded his leaf as if it were a sword. He cut Roselia with an overwhelming blow, lowering his bar to 0%. The poison Pokemon fainted and Herben landed safely on his four feet, victorious. The audience hooted and hollered. Both Mikey and Drew stood there, stunned at the outcome of the match.

"She won!" The now energetic blonde jumped from his seat and grabbed Yugi. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" He hugged him tightly, crushing him under his weight.

"J-Joey!" The spiky headed boy couldn't catch his breath. Joey dropped him.

"Heh, sorry Yuge, got excited; but on another note," he clapped hands together with Tristan's. "Great battle huh?"

"Epic," said his best buddy.

"Can you believe that?" Shanice asked Phoebe.

"Nope, but it happened." The brunette smiled.

"Did you see that, Seto?" Mokuba asked his brother, who looked at him.

"I did," 'but she's got a long way to go if she wants to get to grand festival.' He thought.

"Oh Roselia," The upset coordinator picked up his Roselia and looked at Mikey who was happily hugging her Chikorita. She stopped and looked at him with guilt. Drew shook his head and walked off the stage with his Pokemon in his arm. The others snuck up behind and Joey hugged her.

"Awesome job, Mikey!" He squeezed her tightly. She slightly turned around and smiled.

"Thanks Joey." He let her go and everyone else congratulated her.

"I can't believe you actually beat Drew." Tristan said star stroked.

"Forget that, she won her first contest." Shanice added. The three Kaibas stood to the corner together watching.

"Wow! Looks like we got some competition." Phoebe said, looking up at Seto.

"Hmph, she got lucky."

"Only because YOU, of all people, taught her Chikorita Fury Cutter. If I didn't know you well bro, I'd say you-"

"Stop!" He raised his hand. "Do not finish that statement because I know what you're going to say." He put it down and looked at her. "I did it so he would be able to beat Roselia. From here on out, she's on her own." Phoebe looked to the side.

'Yeah right, Seto.' She giggled to herself as she thought.

"Ms. Coppertino," Nurse Joy held two small blue ribbons. "I believe this belongs to you and Herben." She held them out on her palms. Mikey looked behind her to see Contesta, Sukizo, and Vivian nodding behind her. "You earned it." The nurse added. She placed one in her hand and attached the other to Herben.

'I can't believe I actually won a contest.' Yugi tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, you alright?" She looked at him. "Am I alright? I'm great!" She hugged him. "Thanks, Yugi." He stood still, blushing madly.

"Hey, what about us?" Joey asked feeling left out. The ecstatic brunette looked at him.

"Oh yeah," she released Yugi and walked up to him and the others. "Thanks, all of you."

"It's the least we can do." Joey said, rubbing his nose with glee.

"You didn't do anymore than we did, Joey." Shanice said annoyed. As the others had their conversation, Mikey looked at Kaiba, who looked away when he met her gaze. Yugi saw this.

'I wonder what that deal was that they made.' He thought. 'Hopefully nothing too…bad.' The friends ended their talk and decided it was time to go home, until next contest. Mikey finally found a dream she was willing to fulfill.

**To be continued...**

[1] Poison type Pokemon, prior to Generation II were weak against bug types. This dilemma applies to this series.

**Contest Scores: In this order: Contesta, Sukizo, and Nurse Joy  
**

**Mikey (8.3, 8.5, 8.1=24.9)**  
**Phoebe (9, 9, 9=27)**

**Drew (9.8, 9.9, 9.7=29.4)**


	9. Mikey and Phoebe Give You Hell!

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. Why in God's name are these getting longer? Sorry if it's too long for you guys. Another warning is that hope you Téa Gardner fans don't hate me...Another thing is that I was never in NYC before, so don't flame for my lack of knowledge...Enjoy!

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon/spirit cries/speech

'normal': thinking

'_italic_': Pokemon/spirit thinking

**Bold**: Phoebe sings

Underlined: Mikey sings

**_Bold italic_**: Shanice sings

\\**Bold**\\: Phoebe and Mikey sing

**_|Bold italic|_**: All sing

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**Mikey and Phoebe Give You Hell!**

* * *

It was the day after the contest and Mikey sat on her bed in her room looking out the window. Herben and Wurmple lay next to her. "Yesterday was pretty hectic." She looked at her Pokemon. "I still can't believe I beat Drew and his Roselia. Better yet, I can't believe I actually won my first contest," she then looked back out the window, "and especially what happened after that…"

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

Mikey and her friends were on the stage of the contest hall inside the Aria casino. The coordinator held the blue ribbon tightly in her hand. "So, what exactly do you do with that thing?" Joey asked taking the item from his friend's hold.

"I put it somewhere safe until I get four more, then I'll be able to enter the Grand Festival." Mikey told him taking it back from him.

"Where are you gonna go for the others?" Tristan asked standing next to Joey with Shanice.

"I don't know. I guess I have to look up where the others are going to be held." Kaiba walked up to her.

"I need to talk to you outside." He said and walked off. Mikey looked at her friends.

"Guess I need to go." She started to leave, but Yugi stopped her. "What is it, Yugi?"

"I don't think you should go out there with him." He told her with a worried look on his face.

"Well, why not?"

"'Cause when you make deals with Kaiba, it's like making deals with the mafia." Joey answered for him.

"You guys are acting like it's something physical." Mikey told them, folding her arms over her chest.

"Then what is it?" Shanice asked. Phoebe sighed.

"It's none of our business. That's what it is." She looked at Mikey. "Now go before he gets mad and wonders what's taking you." The other brunette nodded and went for the doorway then turned to face everyone.

"Oh and by the way, it's only that he has to tell me something. He owes me a word basically." She smiles and leaves. The others look at each other confused.

"Ok?" Joey was the most confused of all.

Outside the building, Seto was waiting for Mikey. "Where is she?" He asked getting impatient.

"Looking for me?" Mikey's voice came from the entrance to the Aria. The other coordinator looked at her.

"What took you?"

"Nothing, just something else," she walked up to him and smiled. "So, where's my 'thank you' and apology?" She yearned for the blue-eyed teen's gratitude. He scoffed and looked around the area they were standing at.

"What are you looking at?" She asked. He looked back at her.

"Trying to make sure no one else was looking."

"Seriously," the female coordinator shook her head. "Why is it a big deal?" The dragon trainer didn't answer her. "Oh, I get it, you don't want others to see or hear this side of you."

"I don't have another side." He glared.

"Ok then, I'm waiting," she edged away from him, "and so is everyone else inside." Kaiba sighed then cleared his throat.

"Fine, if it's what you want. I guess I owe you." He closed his eyes, "and I guess I'm sorry for being a total dick to you after finding out whom you really were. Also thanks for helping get rid of the poison that Wurmple of yours injected into me and lastly for defeating Drew." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "How was that?" He smirked.

"It was very poetic." She giggled.

"Mikey?" The two looked toward the streets and saw Drew looking at Mikey.

"Hey Drew, is everything okay?" She asked. Seto glared again at her.

"Don't tell me you're being nice to him?"

"I have no reason not to be." Drew slowly walked to the front of them.

"Could I talk to you," he turned to Kaiba, "alone?" The other rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he went back inside the building, but stopped going any further when he noticed their focus was on each other. He decided to stand directly behind the glass door, against the blackish purple walls so he couldn't be seen and also so he could hear what was going on.

"So, what is it, Drew?" The green haired teen smiled.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on winning your first contest and beating me." He continued to stand with his right hand behind his back. "Here's something from me to you." He showed her a red rose in his right hand. Mikey gasped and blushed.

"Drew, what's that for?" Drew tossed it to her and she caught it. Seto, from inside, growled.

"What's this guy's deal?"

"Good luck in future competitions. I hope to see you in the Grand Festival." He waved at her and began to walk off.

"Oh, you'll have more to worry about than her when you get there." Drew looked at Kaiba, who exited the building.

"We'll see Kaiba." He grinned and looked at Mikey. "Take care, kid." He winked at her and left them.

"Hmph, such a Casanova." Kaiba crossed his arms.

"Jealous much?"

"Why would I be jealous of a brat who thinks he's better than everyone?" Mikey laughed.

"Sounds like someone I know." She started to make her way back into the building, but the other stopped her.

"This isn't a joke Mikey. I hope you know that if you plan on entering any more contests that you're going to have to achieve victory alone, because I'll be busy trying to win also."

"I didn't really want your help anyway. Besides, it's more fun when you have your own strategies and stuff." She said.

"Pokemon contests are not about fun. They're about skill and power. Making your Pokemon better than any other. Trying to-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I get all that. You just focus on your goals and I'll worry about mine." Mikey waved her hand and went back inside.

"Idiot," was all Kaiba said before he followed her.

* * *

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Mikey stood up from her bed and went to her dresser. She opened it and pulled out a red case that held her lone ribbon. "I have to find out where the others are going to be held." She looked at the rose-in-vase on top. "I just know Drew is going to get stronger and that's not all." She looked back at her sleeping Pokemon. "The two Kaibas will be participating too and they're no amateurs." She then thought for a moment. "I know what to do."

* * *

That afternoon at Coppertino Industries, Mikey entered her father's office. "What is it honey?" Frank asked as his daughter stood across his desk.

"I need to ask for a favor?" She looked at him sternly.

"Anything," he looked at her, "but are you alright?" Mikey nodded.

"I need money so I can enter Pokemon contests." Her father looked at her shocked.

"Contests where?" He asked.

"All different places around the world; I need to enter those so I can make it to the Grand Festival." Frank stood up from his chair.

"I can't let you go. What if something were to happen to you?"

"I'm not going to be alone, daddy, my friends will be with me." He rubbed his head.

"I don't know Mikey…"

"Then allow me to answer for you, Coppertino." Kaiba entered the room, with a rolled up paper, and stood next to Mikey.

"What are you talking about and what are you doing here?" The younger president scowled at his enemy.

"I came here to make a proposition, Francis." He unrolled the paper on the desktop and it showed a map of the world with fourteen places circled in three different colors. Frank looked at it then back at Kaiba.

"And what is this?"

"It's a mapping of all the contests that are going on around the world. The ones that Phoebe, I," He looks at Mikey, "and Mikey will enter." The girl in the room was flabbergasted.

"You already planned out which contests I could enter?"

"Absolutely not!" The older man slammed his hands on his desk. "No way in hell is she going with you."

"Relax; she will not be coming with me. I will be doing my thing while she and Phoebe do theirs."

"Pfft, yeah like I'm really going to believe a snake like you." Mikey watched as the two men had their quarrel. She could slightly see Kaiba's arm bandaged under his sleeve from the bug assault earlier the week.

"Mikey, don't you have anything to say?" The brunette teen asked her. She snapped out of her thought.

"Huh? About what?" Kaiba placed a hand around his forehead and grabbed part of his bangs in annoyance.

"Aren't you listening?"

"I'm sorry, Kaiba. So, what do I have something to say about?"

"The contest dilemma," he let go of his hair.

"Oh that, I really wanna go."

"See, she wants to go. Now I know you won't deny her of that." He walked behind her and leaned over so his face was right next to hers. "Beg," he whispered in her ear and straightened back up. Mikey listened to him.

"Please daddy, I really want to compete in Pokemon contests and this is the only way." She looked at her dad with big eyes and curled lips.

"Oh no, don't even think of giving me that look." Frank sat back down.

"Please!" She begged, starting to cry. "I thought you wanted me to follow in your footsteps and be a great coordinator. I know it's dangerous, but I won't be alone. I promise. Please!"

Kaiba stared at her with a raised brow. 'Damn' he thought. Frank sighed.

"Oh Mikey, you can go." He closed his eyes.

"Yes, thank you, daddy!" She ran to the other side of the desk and hugged him tightly.

"But," he began. Mikey looked up at him. "Be careful is all I ask." He looked at her and patted her head.

"I will. See you at home. Love you." The overly happy teenager hugged her father one more time and left Coppertino Industries.

"That went well." Kaiba commented sitting down in a chair across from the desk.

"Now why are you still here?" The brunette just sneered at Frank.

* * *

The next day, at school, Yugi did what he usually does when he gets to school early: Study. "Hey, Yuge, what's up?" Phoebe greeted him walking into the classroom.

"Oh hi, Phoebe, what are you doing here?" The brunette sat down in the seat in front of him.

"I came here early, so I thought I would take the time to come see you." She smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, just tired." He said, yawning.

"Rough night?" Phoebe asked with a concern look.

"No, just that Mikey called me last night and invited me to go with her around the world to compete in contests. I told her I would also talk to Joey and the others about it."

"Yeah, Seto said something about that too. He says he's going his separate way and bringing Mokuba with him. I decided to go with Mikey and you guys." Phoebe smiled more.

"How is this going to work?" Yugi asked as he put his book back in his backpack.

"I don't have the map, but we marked off which cities the three of us would go to for our respective competitions. We did this so neither of us would face each other until the Grand Festival."

"Good, cause I really don't want to see Kaiba." The blonde said.

"I figured that, but why not?"

"Cause the whole thing between him and Mikey. Just imagine what would happen when we're all the way in a different country whose murder laws are different and-"

"Whoa, Yugi, Seto's not going to do anything like that to her. Trust me." Phoebe interrupted him.

"Yeah, cause if he tries, I'll kill him back." Joey added coming into the room with Shanice.

"Don't count on it Joey." The brunette retorted getting up. She turns to Yugi. "See you later, Yuge." She leaves the classroom.

"Wait I missed it, what's going on?" The other blonde asked Yugi as he sat down in his seat in front of him.

"We're going on a trip." Yugi smiled.

"What kind of trip?" Shanice questioned.

"A Pokemon contest trip and it's going to be sweet." Joey and Shanice looked at one another.

"How are we getting to these places?" Joey asked. Shanice leaned against his desk.

"By plane, Mikey's dad was nice enough to pay for us. Phoebe's coming too. I was told Phoebe insisted on using a Kaiba Corp private jet for us, but you know her brother." The spiky-headed boy shrugged. "It's alright though."

"That's awesome!" Joey exclaimed, jumping out of his seat and practically knocking Shanice over. "Oops, sorry Shay." The dark haired girl stood up and gave her friend a dirty look.

"Hey guys, did you all hear?" Tristan asked entering the room.

"About what, T?" His best friend asked.

"Joey, did you really not hear?" The brunette asked.

"I might have, Tristan, but I don't know what you're talking about. So lay it on me man."

"Ok, I got a call from Mikey this morning and she said-"

"That we're going traveling for Pokemon contests." Joey finished the other's sentence with his arms behind his head.

"Uh, yeah, so you do know?" Tristan sat down in front of Joey.

"Yeah I do. How come Mike never called me?" Shanice tapped on his shoulder. "What?" He looked at her.

"Did you even check your phone?"

"Did she call you?" The now irritated blonde asked the girl next to him.

"Yeah, guess I forgot to tell you guys." Joey groaned and took out his phone.

"I need to look at my cell more because turns out she DID call me." He put it back in his coat pocket. A rolled up piece of paper was tossed onto Yugi's desk. The boy looked up and saw Kaiba with an annoyed look on his face.

"Hey, Kaiba, what's up?" Yugi asked with his normal smile.

"I just thought I'd give you a copy of this, since we're not going to see each other for awhile. See your little girlfriend if you want all the details." He went to his desk against the wall and sat down. Yugi and the others looked at the paper.

"What is it?" Shanice asked. Joey picked it up and took off the rubber band around it, "any idea, Joey?"

"It's a map." He advised. The dark skinned teen poked her head over the blonde's shoulders.

"A map of what?" Tristan asked.

"It's a map of the world. The cities that are marked off are the ones the coordinators will enter." Yugi proclaimed.

"Wicked cool, so which ones are we going to?" Joey asked, handing the map to Yugi.

"We'd have to ask Mikey after school. She said she isn't coming today because she and her parents need to prepare flight plans. They're also paying for the rooms we'll be staying at."

"Awesome!" His three friends cried out elatedly, raising their fists up in the air.

* * *

After school the group took Joey's car to Mikey's house. "Okay guys, let me do all the talking." Joey offered preparing to knock on the front door.

"Not likely, you're never good with words." Shanice said, pulling him out of the way. "Yugi should talk." She smiled at the boy who was still at his friend's car. He looked up at them when he heard his name.

"Huh, why me?" He pointed to himself.

"Because you're the one that talked to her last night about it, in detail. The rest of us didn't." The girl of the group mentioned, walking up to him and pulling him by the arm. Yugi groaned as his friend dragged him to the house. "Go on," she knocked on the door for him. Everyone, minus Yugi, scurried to the side of the house.

"Oh you guys are just the worst…" Mikey answered the door as he continued to rant. "I mean seriously, you all know how I get around-"

"Yugi?" The violet eyed teen looked at Mikey for a quick second and then back at the others. It then dawned on him who spoke and he turned his attention back at her.

"Uh, hey Mike. I didn't see you there." He stared at her tensely. The brunette in the doorway laughed.

"It's alright, Yugi. So why are you here?" She smiled sweetly at him.

"I uh…just wanted to…um…" Mikey grinned at him as he tried to speak.

"Ah crap, we're losing him." Shanice covered her face with her hand.

"I'm going in." Joey muttered and hurried to his pal's rescue. "Hiya, Mikey!" He held Yugi by the arm and smiled brightly at her.

"Hi, Joey, why is everyone hiding?" She peaked over at the side of the building and saw Tristan and Shanice looking at her, frozen in place.

"Uh, well you know," he rubbed the back of his head, "we just wanted to-"

"Wanna come in?" The aristocratic teen asked. The gang looked at each other and nodded. "Let's go." She beckoned them to follow her. The five made their way inside. "Mom, dad, my friends are here." She stood dead center of the living room with her guests behind her. Her parents came down the stairs and looked at them.

"Good afternoon." Frank acknowledged them. He looked at his wife, who went to sit down on the couch. "Please, have a seat. I have business to discuss with you all." Mikey sat on the couch with her mother and Yugi, Joey and Shanice sat on the loveseat in front of the windows, and Tristan sat in a recliner in between the previously mentioned furniture.

"So what is it you are going to share with us, Mr. C?" Joey asked.

"Well Mr. Wheeler, I'm sure that you and your friends are aware of the trip you will be taking. Am I right?" He nodded.

"Yes, sir," Joey assured him as he tried to get more comfortable.

"What's wrong?" Shanice whispered.

"Nothing, just nervous about being in this house is all." The blonde answered.

"Ok, so anyways, you all will be staying in nine designated cities for five days each and-"

"Nine cities, five days each? What about school?" Tristan asked not believing the circumstances.

"I have been told that class and homework assignments will be emailed to either Phoebe or Mikey, since they're the ones bringing the laptops. You will then email the work to the class's respectively instructor." Frank said. Joey sighed.

"Mr. Perfect doesn't want to miss a thing."

"Shut-up, Joey," Frank glared at them both.

"Quiet you two!" The two boys looked at each other, and then back at him.

"We're sorry." Both of their heads dropped in shame.

"Right," the raven-haired man turned to his daughter and handed her a small piece of paper with directions. "You must go to McCarran Airport on 5757 Wayne Newton bright and early to get your tickets. Got that?" The adolescents nodded. "Good, now go home, pack, and get some sleep. Meet back here in the morning, no later than 7AM."

"You got it, Mr. C." Joey jumped off of the couch. "Come on ya'll, we gotta get ready for tomorrow." Tristan, Shanice, and Yugi agreed as they followed him to the door. "Bye now." The cheery dirty-blonde smiled and left with his friends behind him.

* * *

That night, at the Turtle Game Shop, Solomon Moto was cleaning up the shop when a red-headed woman came in from the living room. "Dad, where's Yugi?" She asked.

"He's up in his room getting ready for tomorrow." He told her as he wiped the counter.

"I thought we agreed that it was too dangerous and that he was far too young to go?" Yugi's grandfather sighed and finished cleaning up.

"He's seventeen, Lyra." The redhead put her hands on her hips.

"So?"

"I was younger than him when I started exploring, and I did it alone. At least Yugi will be with his friends."

The woman grimaced, "but he's my baby boy." There then was a knock at the door.

"Wonder who that could be at this hour." The elderly game store owner looked out the window and then went straight to opening the door.

"Good evening, Mr. Moto." Mikey smiled widely at him.

"Hello there, Mikey, are you here to see Yugi?" He asked as Lyra walked to his side.

"I am. Hope I'm not disturbing anything." Solomon shook his head.

"So this is the witch that's stealing my Yugi from me." Lyra gave the girl an evil look.

"Witch?" The teen tilted her head in confusion.

"Mikey, this is Lyra my daughter-in-law. Please excuse her rudeness."

"So you're Yugi's overprotective mother." The older woman still glared at her.

"Yugi is in his room upstairs. You're welcome to visit him." The other Moto offered.

"Thank you." Mikey entered the house and went upstairs.

"Why are you supporting this?" Lyra asked in an irritated tone.

"Now Lyra, I know Mikey and she's a very sweet girl who would never hurt him."

"Has her so-called beauty and family power hypnotized you too?" He took a deep breath and looked at her.

"No, but you have to trust that Yugi is capable of making good friends." She couldn't believe what he was saying.

* * *

In his room, Yugi was still busy packing his things. There was a single suitcase on the floor and clothes scatter all over the place. "Hey Yami, do you think I need a lot of clothes for this trip?" He asked the spirit of his Millennium Puzzle.

"_How should I know? I wear whatever you wear._" He sat on the bed with his arms and legs crossed.

"Good point," Yugi chuckled, "but I need room for other things." He walked to the bed. "What if someone gets hurt, or we run out of Pokemon food, or-"

"_Calm down Yugi._" Yami put a transparent hand on his shoulder.

"You're right. Guess I am overreacting." Someone knocked on their door. The two turned to see Mikey opening it.

"Hey Yugi, how are you doing?" She beamed.

"Mikey, what are you doing here?" Yugi asked.

"_I was thinking the same thing, however I am happier you're here,_" followed Yami.

"Thanks," she went over to Yugi. "So, are you still packing?" She looked down at the bag.

"Heh, yeah it's so hard deciding on what to bring."

"_I told him not to stress out over it too much._" Yugi looked at the magenta eyed spirit and back at Mikey.

"I'm not stressing." Mikey nodded.

"You'll be okay. Oh yeah, you never told me you had a super protective mom."

"Yeah, I hate when she does that, but I can't complain. She IS my mom after all." He sighed.

"My parents are like that too. In fact, when you guys left, they begged me not to leave. Sometimes I think they worry too much." Yugi smiled at her.

"It just means that they really love you." Mikey smiled back.

"So are you excited?"

"Yeah, it will be super fun going on an adventure with everyone." She looked at Yami.

"What about you?" The being looked at her.

"_I think it will be great to spend some time with you._" He smirked. "_That's from Yugi's mind, but I think the same._" The other boy shook his head embarrassed.

"Really though Yami?" The brunette giggled and looked at a nearby clock.

"Guess I better get going. Goodnight guys." The two Yugis looked at each other and Yami nodded.

"Hold on, Mike." He followed her to the hall. She looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"Nothing just thought I'd walk you to the door and let you out." He grabbed her hand. "Come on." They leave the room and go downstairs. Yami smiles and disappears.

"Where do you think you're going?" Yugi's mother asked as the two teens made their way to the door.

"I'm just walking her to the door, mom." His mom had an angry expression on her face, but changed it dramatically when she looked at her own boy's face. She pulled him into a tight hug.

"Oh Yugi, I'm going to miss my little spike ball." Her son blushed hard.

"Aw, mom, come on." She let him go.

"I'm sorry for embarrassing you in front of your friend." Yugi smiled.

"Be right back." He and Mikey exited the game store.

"Well that was amusing." Mikey laughed.

"More like terrible," the spiky-headed Pokemon trainer sighed. He then grinned at her. "Are you excited?"

"Excited? I'm more nervous than anything!" She freaked.

"Oh, that's right. You never did a lot of moving around when you were in Neo, right?" Mikey nodded. "Joey and Tristan have moved from Sinnoh to America; Shanice use to have a boyfriend who took her to different places; and I lived in Johto. You'll be fine though. You got us with you." Mikey calmed down.

"Thanks Yugi, you always know what to say." Yugi winked at her.

"Hey, what are friends for?" They both laughed. "Goodnight, Mikey, see you in the morning." He walked up to the door.

"Yugi," he looked at her.

"Hmm?" She shook her head.

"Um, never mind. Goodnight." She turned and went to her house across the street. Yugi smiled one last time and retired to bed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Joey was in his room lying on his bed. His phone rang, causing a groan to escape from his mouth. "Hello, this is Joey Wheeler. If you're a woman, my bed is always o-"

"Joey, it's Tristan." The blonde stopped when he heard his friend's voice on the other side. He looked at the ID on his cell and put it back to his ears.

"Heh, sorry T. Guess I forgot to check the name."

"And you wonder why Shanice never calls you," joked the other boy.

"Ha, ha, really funny. So why did you call me?" Tristan sighed.

"You do realize the first place we're going to is New York, right?"

"Yeah, my second hometown," Joey smiled. On the other end, Tristan was sitting on his bed talking to his best friend on the phone.

"So, is she coming with us?" The Brooklyn accented boy asked, referring to Tristan's girlfriend.

"If we have enough room," the blonde laughed.

"Of course we'll have room. We're flying first class and get a discount 'cause Phoebe tipped off the airports." The brunette smiled.

"If that's the case, then she'll be there." The two Sinnoh trainers finished off the night with conversations about their past.

* * *

**~Day 1~**

The next morning, the gang arrived at the airport. "Where the hell is Phoebe? If she doesn't get here soon, we're leaving without her."

"Come on, Joey, don't rush her. She'll be here." Shanice said.

"I know, but I really wanna hurry up on this flight." Phoebe ran up to them.

"Hi guys. Hope I didn't keep you waiting." She smiled. Seto and Mokuba stood behind her.

"What are you guys doing here?" Wheeler huffed. The eldest Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Mokuba wanted to tag along with you and since I don't trust either of you, except for Phoebe, I'm coming with you."

"Say what?" Everyone, but Yugi, was shocked. He was however annoyed.

"Really Kaiba," he asked with a death glare. "Why?"

"I already told you why, Yugi." The brunette turned to his sister. "Mokuba and I will be taking the Bludragon jet and will meet you there." The middle sibling nodded.

"Got it, bro," she patted his shoulder. "See you in about five and a half hours." Kaiba smiled and went to hug her, but ceased when he remembered everyone else there.

"Be careful, sis." He told her and left with Mokuba by his side.

"Now that was interesting." Joey commented. Phoebe looked at her friends.

"Alright, everyone, let's get this party started. Are we ready to go on an adventure?"

"Yeah!" The Pokemon trainers swung their fists to the ceiling in excitement, all aside from Mikey who was still afraid of traveling.

* * *

About five and a half hours later, "I can't believe they delayed take-off just because of me." Joey whined as he sat next to Shanice.

"Well you did start a fight Joey. That's why you have the window."

"I don't mind the aisle." Tristan mentioned.

"Hey, that dude snatched my snack." The angry blonde chimed again.

"Dude, that dude was a little kid." The dark skinned girl said. "Plus, I think he was really hungry."

"You're welcome," came Phoebe's voice from behind Tristan's seat. Joey looked at her.

"Yeah, thanks Phoebs. If it weren't for you, I would be on a one way trip back home." The turquoise eyed teenager smiled. Mikey sat next to her and at the window was a girl with long, pink hair with purple streaks, and purple eyes. She also had a heart tattooed on her forehead. Yugi sat behind her.

"So, Olivia, where are you from?" Mikey asked. She had been talking to Olivia Love throughout the flight.

"I'm from Emerald City, Neo." The brunette's eyes widened.

"You're from Neo too?" Olivia nodded.

"I know you're from Neo too. Tristan talks about you all the time."

"He does?" The pink haired teen giggled.

"I know it's funny. He thinks you're the cool new kid." Mikey slumped back in her seat. "What's wrong?"

She frowned. "You all really like me. Don't you?"

"Of course we do." She looked around at her surrounding friends. "Tristan is plain generous and so is Shanice, Joey seems to care about you, and as for Yugi," the last person she glanced at was Yugi, who was looking out the window while listening to his iPod. "He likes you too." Mikey sighed.

"I know." Olivia looked at Mikey with her purple orbs that had an odd feeling about them.

"Do you like us?"

"Yes I do. You guys are the best friends I have ever had and I only have known you for a few weeks. It's just," she looked down.

"Seto Kaiba doesn't like you and you're trying to fix it by figuring out what you did wrong."

"How did you-"

"Tristan told me." Olivia interrupted. "You shouldn't feel bad about that. His brother and sister like you. Plus, he hates everyone who isn't his relative." The brunette sighed.

"I know that's what everyone says; but before he found out who I was, he actually didn't hate me." There was then silence on their side of the plane.

* * *

The aircraft finally landed and the trainers were busy gathering their luggage. "So which one is yours, Joey?" Shanice and Joey were searching through the baggage claim for his bag.

"Uh, the green one is mine." They looked at all the bags that were a shade of green.

"What's going on?" Tristan asked, holding his two red and blue bags.

"Joey lost his bag."

"I didn't LOSE it. I just misplaced it." He looked at the machine. A grassy green suitcase landed next to his feet.

"Is that your bag?" A woman with blonde and brown hair asked. Joey picked it up and looked at the name written on the tag.

"How did you know who I was?" The others walked up behind Tristan and Shanice.

"I have my ways," was all she said before walking off with a malicious look on her face.

"Wow! What a babe!" Joey stood there blushing with his mouth wide open and tongue sticking out.

"Down boy. Sit." Kaiba said standing by Shanice. Joey shook off his distraction and looked at the insulting brunette.

"What'd you say?" The other male was about to say something, when his sister cut him off.

"Please don't continue." Her brother scoffed and turned away. "Now can we all just catch a cab or something and get to the hotel?"

"Hmph, we don't need a cab." Seto walked passed everyone and his brother followed.

"Do we follow him?" Joey asked, picking up his bag. Phoebe nodded.

* * *

Outside of the airport, a black limo was waiting for them. Joey stood next to Seto. "So, which one is ours?"

"Don't be an idiot. There's only one limo here. I don't do taxis." The familiar driver exited the vehicle and stood in front of them.

Joey, in shock, pointed at him, "oh no, not you! It's the evil driver!"

"How is he evil?" Yugi asked.

"Uh…" The blonde was flustered. The group handed their bags to him and got into the limo. Yugi, Mikey, and Phoebe sat at the back facing front; Shanice, Joey, and Mokuba sat on the left side; Tristan and Olivia sat across from them; and Seto sat at the front with his ankles crossed as usual. "Where's our pad?" The blonde haired, brown eyed, former New Yorker asked.

"We're staying at the Salisbury Hotel on 123 west 57th Street." Phoebe stated, taking out pieces of paper from her blue handbag.

"What are these for?" Tristan asked, being handed one of them.

"It's a list of things we can do. The contest is on the 17th. We have plenty of time to have fun."

"Man, so Phoebe is our trip coordinator now?" Joey laughed after what he said. Mikey looked at the dragon trainer who was staring out the window. His blue eyes then looked at her for a second before being closed.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Yugi asked, waving a hand in front of her.

"I'm fine." She assured him with a half-hearted smile.

* * *

After quite a few minutes passed, the limo stopped in front of a tan, seventeen storied building with a black awning that read ''Salisbury Hotel''. The nine passengers stepped out of the limousine and looked up at the tall building in awe. "This is amazing!" Shanice said, eyes sparkling at the sight.

"What do you expect? We're at the home of tons of skyscrapers." Phoebe told her. The driver finished removing the bags from the trunk.

"Mr. Kaiba," Seto nodded his head.

"That will be all, Dante." Dante bowed, went back to the front seat, and drove off.

"Alright, it's party time!" Joey shouted grabbing his bag and enthusiastically walking into the building. The rest of the club followed him.

* * *

After retrieving three keys from the front desk, they take the elevator to the highest level. "Lapras of luxury, here I come." The always exhilarated blonde ran down the hall and halted when he got to one of the rooms labeled on one of the keys.

"Joey sure is hype." Mikey said.

Tristan laughed. "That's Joey for ya." Joey finally opened the door after taking moments to figure out how to use a card key.

"Damn," he ran inside and jumped on one of the beds. "I got dibs on the bed by the balcony."

"My god, look at this place." Shanice sat on the other bed.

Phoebe sat with her, "and the star striking continues."

The room was slightly large. The walls and sheets on the bed were cream colored. The carpet was a light brown, a flat screen television sat on the wall, across from the two beds. An auburn couch was under the TV, a shelf next to it with different utensils, a refrigerator next to that by the door, a safe on the wall next to the bed Shanice sat on, and a mirror on top of the drawer. Lastly, there were vents on the ceiling and a thermostat by the safe.

"This place is really nice. Too bad we're only gonna be here for five days." Yugisaid. Mikey stood next to Seto by the door.

"Kaiba, I need a key to the other room." She held out her hand. The taller brunette reluctantly handed a card key to her. "Thank you." She left with Olivia and Tristan.

"So how are we arranging this?" Phoebe asked, standing up.

"You, Yugi, and Mikey will take the room to the left while Olivia, Tristan, and I will take the one to the right." Seto told her, handing her the last key.

"Guess that means it's me and you guys." Mokuba said to Shanice and Joey.

"Hey, hold on rich boy, who made you boss?" Joey complained, folding his arms. Seto scoffed and left the room, "you jerk."

* * *

That night, the gang decided to explore the main streets of Manhattan. "Hey guys, we should go to a karaoke bar." Phoebe suggested.

"Do they have drinks?" Joey asked.

"You're not over twenty-one, but how about this, I'll get you those drinks. You owe me though." The coordinator smirked.

"Geez, what's with you Kaibas wanting something in return?" He sighed, "Ok fine." He walked ahead of everyone, "how about J'z?" Phoebe smiled.

"Sounds good, Joe." The traveling trainers made their way inside and sat at a table. Joey sat on a barstool.

"Typical Joey," sighed Shanice. They all watched as the blonde made a fool of himself. Phoebe tapped him on the shoulder.

"What do you want?"

"I want a Margarita." Joey had a huge grin on his face.

"Can I help you kids?" The bartender asked. "I hope you don't think you're getting any booze." Phoebe sat on the bar.

"Listen, hun, do you know who I am?" Joey bit his lip, blushing as the tender looked at Phoebe.

"Yeah, you're Phoebe Kaiba, right?"

"Wow, smart and handsome," She gave him a devious smile. Back at the seats, Yugi looked at Kaiba.

"Your sister is weird."

"She does what she needs to do." Seto told him. After Phoebe was finished being flirtatious, Joey was blithely drinking.

"Thanks Phoebs. It was cool that he allowed me to have free drinks and all; and the only thing you have to do is not tell the police and get up there and sing?" Phoebe nodded and went toward the stage.

"Where's she going?" Mokuba asked confused.

"I don't like this." His older brother said, tensing up. Phoebe stood on the stage and grabbed the microphone from the stand. She whistled to get everyone's attention.

"Good evening, New Yorkers, how's everyone feeling?" The people in the bar hooted and hollered as the other people in the room clapped.

"That's great, how about a little song?"

One of the men at the bar called out, "yeah, Kaiba!" Joey looked up at her.

"Alright everyone, this song is called 'Gives You Hell©'!"[2] An instrumental version of the aforementioned song began to play.

* * *

**"I wake up every evening, with a big smile on my face and it never feels out of place. And you're still probably working at a 9 to 5 pace. I wonder how bad that tastes."**

The music became louder as she prepared for the chorus.

**"When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell."**

The room erupted into an uproar. Mikey got up from her seat as Phoebe continued to sing.

"Where are you going, Mike?" Yugi asked.

**(When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell.)**

"You'll see." She smiled at him and walked to the stage.

**"Now where's your picket fence love, and where's that shiny car, and did it ever get you far."**

Mikey snuck up to the side and tried to get Phoebe's attention. "Psst, Phoebe,"

**"You've never seem so tense love."**

"Phoebe!" Mikey raised her voice a little. The singer turned while she was singing and noticed her.

**"I've never seen you fall so hard, and do you know where you are?"**

She nodded at the green-eyed brunette and stopped the music.

"Hold on for a sec, everyone." She told the crowd in her speaking voice. She walked over to Mikey. The audience wondered what she was doing.

"Hey dudes," Joey stumbled up to his friends, holding his beverage. They all sighed.

The music started from where Phoebe left off, **"and truth be told I miss you."** She came back on stage and sat at the front,

"And truth be told I'm lying."

Mikey sang slowly, coming up from behind Phoebe with an extra microphone. Their friends looked at them both and the crowd went nuts.

/**When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell.**\\

**"When you walk my way, hope it gives it you hell, hope it gives you hell. If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well. Then he's a fool, you're just as well hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell."**

"Yeah, go Phoebe!" Mokuba cheered.

"Go, Phoebe!" The rest of the room followed.

**"Tomorrow you'll be thinking to yourself. Yeah where'd it all go wrong? The list goes on and on."** Phoebe made a gesture with her finger after her last line. **"And truth be told I miss you."**

Mikey rejoined her, "and truth be told I'm lying."

/**When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell.**\\

"When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell. If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well. Then he's a fool, you're just as well, hope it gives you hell."

"Go Mikey!" Yugi screamed from where he sat.

"Go Coppertino!" Everyone followed, including the group of friends. Seto Kaiba just sighed and continued to watch.

"Now you'll never see what you've done to me. You can take back your memories they're no good to me. And here are all your lies; you can look me in the eyes with that sad look that you wear so well."

When she began her verse, Mikey walked up to the front of the stage. After, she flipped her hair back and switched places with Phoebe.

"When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell. When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell."

**"If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well, then he's a fool, you're just as well, hope it gives you hell."**

Shanice jumped in the middle of the duo.

_**"When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell."**_ The trainers at the table looked at the seat where she was sitting, before she got on stage, and looked back at the stage where she was now.

"Alright, go Shay!" Olivia finally broke her silence. The trio began dancing to the beat.

_**"When you hear this song and sing along, oh you'll never tell."**_

**(**/**You'll never tell.**\\**)**

_**"Then you're the fool, I am as well, hope it gives you hell."**_

**(**/**Hope it gives you hell.**\\**)**

_**"When you hear this song, I hope that it will give you hell."**_

**(**/**Hope it gives you hell.**\\**)**

The girls clapped as they prepared the finish.

_**|You can sing along, I hope that it will treat you well.|**_

The three, in a triangle, raised their microphones and ended the song with a huge smile. Phoebe stood at the tip of the triangle, Shanice stood right, lower stage and Mikey stood left, lower stage. The entire karaoke bar exploded into applause. The singers bowed and looked at each other gleefully.

* * *

As the boys and Olivia congratulated them, two more girls walked up to them. Music began to play when the gang noticed them. One of them was a brunette-blonde with blue eyes. The other had short cut brown hair and light blue eyes.

"That was an interesting performance, girls." The blonde-brunette smirked.

"Hey, it's you." Joey added. "The girl who gave me my luggage at the airport," he looked at the second girl, "Téa?" The brunette glanced at him.

"Hi, Joey," Yugi, Tristan, and Olivia gasped.

"Téa!" The pink haired teen hugged her former friend. "I forgot you moved here. How have you been?"

"I've been well Lovely, thanks." Téa said, calling her by her nickname.

"It's been like two years since we last saw you." Tristan said with a hint of unhappiness in his voice.

"I know." She looked at Yugi, who looked away blushing. She smiled. "Hey Yugi," the shy blonde slowly looked at her. Mikey looked at the other girl with Téa.

"Jocelyn?" The brunette-blonde looked at her.

"Well, if it isn't Mikey Coppertino."

"You know her?" Shanice asked. Mikey nodded.

"That's Jocelyn McKinley. She's from Topaz City, Neo."

"So, she's the famous coordinator champion of Neo, huh?" Kaiba smirked. "I would love to see her skills."

"Hey wait, I thought you were Neo champion?" Tristan asked.

"No, I was only champion of Johto and Hoenn contests. I never entered Neo, Kanto, or Sinnoh."

"I'm glad you know who I am. If you wanna see my skills, then follow us." Jocelyn said leading them outside the bar. Mokuba struggled to hold up a wasted Joey.

"Thanks little girl, can I get your number?" The loopy blonde asked, smiling at him. Mokuba looked at him.

"Uh, what the hell did you drink?" Joey moaned in pain.

"My tummy hurts." The black haired Kaiba sighed.

"So, you wanna battle me, Kaiba?" Jocelyn asked, holding a Pokeball.

"Hmph, of course I do." He moved his arm to grab a ball from his belt, but flinched when his wrist accidently scraped against his jeans.

"Are you okay, bro?" His sister asked, looking at him with worry.

"I'm fine, Phoebe." He told her, gritting his teeth. Mikey stepped in front of him. "What are you doing?" She looked at him.

"I guess your arm is still messed up from the poison." Phoebe stood next to her.

"I wanna battle her. If she's a coordinator, then it's my go."

"Hold on, Phoebe, I wanna battle her."

"How about you both battle us?" Téa said next to Jocelyn.

"Alright, a double contest battle, now this I gotta see." Mokuba said, smiling. Phoebe looked at Mikey.

"What do you think?" The other brunette sneered.

"I think it's a great idea."

Kaiba looked at them. "Are you sure about this?" The two girls nodded. "Alright then," he stood in front of Mokuba.

"Go, Glacier! Go, Herben!" Mikey and Phoebe tossed their balls and out emerged Chikorita and a white fox with a tuque on her head and her inner ears, spots on her back, tail end, and cap ending were light blue. She appeared with a sparkle.

"Go, Bayleef! Go, Azumarill!" Jocelyn used a Pokemon that resembled a bigger Chikorita, only with a bit leaf and bigger necklace buds. Téa used a round, blue mouse with rabbit ears, a white underbelly, white bubbles on the tummy, and a ball at the tip of its zigzag tail.

"Alright Herben, Vine Whip Azumarill!" The tiny leaf Pokemon released two vines and attacked the mouse Pokemon.

"Defense Curl, girl!" The water Pokemon rolled up in a ball, deflecting both vines. "Now, Roll-out!" While still in the ball, Azumarill rolled and with a great force, sent Herben flying on contact.

"Wow, how did Roll-out get so powerful?" Tristan asked.

"When a Pokemon uses Defense Curl, then Roll-out, its attack power is doubled. That could be very dangerous if it was used on an ice, rock, bug, or flying type." Yugi explained.

"Herben, are you okay?" The grass Pokemon struggled to stand.

"I got ya back, Mike. Glacier, Hail!" The Glaceon's cap glowed light blue and it began to snow and hail.

"Aw man, not bad weather," Joey groaned still woozy.

"Bayleef, Vine Whip with Azumarill." Everyone looked at Jocelyn shocked. The evolved form of Chikorita used two vines to pick up the still rolling Azumarill and tossed her at the injured Chikorita.

"Mikey, no!" Yugi called out to her. Mikey watched, stunned as her Pokemon was about to take the hit. The shiny eeveelution slapped the water Pokemon away with her silver glowing tail.

"Thanks, Phoebs." Her partner smiled.

"No prob, Mike, we are partners." She winked at her. Yugi and the others sighed in relief.

"Razor Leaf! Ice Shard!" Herben swung three leaves from his head and Glacier spit out three sharp ice shards. Azumarill and Bayleef negated the attacks with Bubblebeam and Razor Leaf, respectively.

"You call yourselves coordinators. I expected Phoebe to at least be good. If she's bad, then her brother must be bad. No wonder he lost to Yugi so easily." Téa cackled.

"Why you," Kaiba growled. "Phoebe, Mikey, kick their asses!"

"Right, bro," Phoebe smiled. Mikey, however, was nervous.

"Azumarill, Bounce!" Téa commanded her Pokemon.

"Solarbeam!" Jocelyn followed. The two Pokemon prepared their attacks. Bayleef's leaf and beads began to glow. Azumarill bounced into the air.

"Glacier, Blizzard!" The ice Pokemon breathed a chilling blizzard and since Hail was still in effect, it has 100% accuracy. Before the attack can hit, her opponents attacked.

"Herben, use Growl to weaken Bounce!" Mikey told her Pokemon. Herben jumped in front of his partner and screamed at Azumarill, before getting struck by Bounce and Solarbeam. Smoke from the blast enveloped the two Pokemon.

"Oh no, they're done for." Shanice told everyone sadly. Kaiba glared at the scene.

'She better not be right.' He thought. The smoke finally cleared and Herben and Glacier were still standing, glowing their respective element's color.

"What's going on?" Jocelyn asked in shock.

"Ice Body and Overgrow!" Yugi exclaimed with joy.

"What is that?" Tristan and Olivia asked. Yugi began to explain, but Kaiba took over.

"Overgrow raises the strength of grass type attacks when the Pokemon has at least 1/3 of its maximum HP. Ice Body restores 1/16 of the Pokemon's HP when it's hailing." He looked up at the clouds as the weather returned to normal, "and looks like those abilities kicked in when they needed them the most."

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Mikey asked looking at her teammate.

"I don't know, what are you thinking?" Phoebe joked.

"This, Vine Whip with Glacier!" Herben wrapped his vines around the fresh snow Pokemon and lifted her up.

"How is that possible?" Jocelyn and Téa asked, afraid at what's coming.

"You see, Overgrow makes my Pokemon x1.5 stronger and since Glaceon is tied with being the shortest eeveelution, he can pick her up with ease." The other two girls gasped.

"You should be flattered," Phoebe added, grinning. "This move was inspired by your earlier maneuver." Herben tossed Glaceon at Azumarill and Bayleef.

"Run girls!" The other two called to their Pokemon.

"Not so fast, Ice Breath!" Glaceon, while spinning, breathed a smooth breath of ice that instantly froze both Pokemon and twisted her tail, finishing them off with Iron Tail. The water and grass Pokemon were unable to battle. The victorious coordinators clapped their hands together. "Good job, girl." Phoebe smiled.

"We do make a pretty cool team." Mikey returned her smile.

"That was awesome, you guys." Mokuba hugged his sister.

"Thanks Mokie, but I probably wouldn't have done it without Mikey." The older brunette blushed. Herben jumped on her shoulder.

"You were amazing, Herb."

"_Chika,_" the grass Pokemon yawned. Glacier stood next to her trainer.

"Herben really is getting stronger." Yugi said, rubbing his leaf. The losing team recalled their fainted Pokemon and walked up to them.

"So you think you're pretty hot stuff huh?" Jocelyn didn't like to lose.

"No, all we did was have a good time." Phoebe defended herself and Mikey. Glacier growled at them.

"Listen, little miss cool, you may have beaten us today, but you can forget about the actual contest." Téa remarked.

"What's happened to you, Téa?" Yugi asked with hurt in his tone. His ex-friend frowned at him.

"Come on, hun; let's get away from these wannabes." Jocelyn held her friend's arm and walked away from them.

"What's with them?" Shanice wondered as she scratched her head. Joey vomited, missing Seto by inches.

"Goddamn it, Wheeler!"

"Sorry," the blonde apologized weakly. Mokuba and Olivia laughed.

"Ok, ok, Joey's had enough to drink. Time to go." Tristan said, chuckling and helping Mokuba hold him.

* * *

When they returned to the hotel, Seto was still complaining about almost getting vomit on his clothes.

"I swear if that imbecile got any on me-"

"For Arceus sake, Seto, it's not a big deal." Phoebe implied laughing.

"It WAS funny." Mikey added with a huge grin.

"Watch it, Copper-girl." The icy-eyed brunette glared.

"Aww!" Phoebe and Olivia squealed slightly.

"Shut up!" He opened the door of the room he was staying at. "I'm serious." The four girls laughed and the other guys looked at each other, besides Joey who was sleeping with his arms still around Mokuba and Tristan.

* * *

"I think tonight went well. Don't you?" Phoebe asked Mikey from the couch.

"It was alright. Are you sure you don't mind the couch?" Phoebe nodded. Vapor and Glacier slept on the back and right arms of the couch. Herben and Cindy slept at the foot of the beds Yugi and Mikey were in.

"Goodnight, girls." Yugi said, lifting the blanket s over him.

"'Night, Yuge." Mikey and Phoebe smiled and soon all the trainers were asleep in their respective rooms, preparing for days of adventure.

**To be continued...**

[2] This version of the song is sung by "The Glee Cast" but is © of All American Rejects.


	10. The Whole Arcanine Yards

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. (horrible chapter alert!) I don't know if this is longer than the last one, but it IS split into two parts: The adventures and the contest and that's how it will be for now on...Enjoy!

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon/spirit cries/speech

'normal': thinking

'_italic_': Pokemon/spirit thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**The Whole Arcanine Yards**

* * *

**~Day 2~**

The next day arrived and all of the Pokemon trainers were up and ready to start the morning. This would be entirely true if Mikey Coppertino wasn't still asleep in her bed.

"Did you try waking her up?" Phoebe asked Yugi as the two hovered over the sleeping brunette.

"Yes, but I guess she's a heavy sleeper."

"We'll see about that. Vapor," the bubble jet Pokemon leaped onto the bedside.

"_Yes, Phoebs?_" the blue eyed brunette petted her Pokemon.

"Use Water-Gun on our little sleeping beauty here." The purple Pokemon nodded and sprayed Mikey with a force of water. She woke up with a loud scream. "Well good morning, Snorlax." Phoebe greeted with a giggle.

The still stunned trainer looked at her, breathing heavily. "You trying to tell me something?" Yugi and Phoebe burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright get dressed. We're going to eat breakfast and meet the others at the indoor swimming pool." Yugi said, picking up Cindy. "Kaiba says he has something cool for us to do this afternoon." Mikey grabbed her things and made her way to the bathroom. When she was finished, she went outside to the balcony where Yugi and Cindy were.

"Hey, where's Phoebe?"

"She's outside, talking to Kaiba on the phone." The blonde replied and looked at her. Mikey smiled back but shrieked, grabbing his arm, after looking over. "What's wrong?" He asked, holding her.

"I-I'm afraid of heights." She told him as her lips quivered and body shook.

"Oh heights aren't all THAT bad." He beamed his usual smile.

"Ok guys, it's time to go." Phoebe informed, coming onto the balcony. The three teens left for breakfast then made their way to an indoor swimming pool.

* * *

Inside, Shanice was lying in the pool on her inflated mattress, wearing a purple one-piece bathing suit. "Now this is what I call a vacation." She had her arms behind her head with eyes closed. A shadow snuck up from under her.

"Boo!" Joey jumped up from below. Shanice screamed, almost falling off her seat. The dirty blonde laughed.

"That's not funny, Joey." She scowled at him.

Joey smirked, "sorry Shay." Tristan swam up behind him and submerged the blonde's head underwater. Struggling to breathe, Joey flailed his arms.

"Say 'uncle'." The brunette sneered. Joey slapped him off and re-emerged, gasping for air.

"You wish, T." He breathed hard. Shanice continued to watch as the two boys wrestled in the water.

Seto was sitting on a white beach chair, on his royal blue laptop. Mokuba, sitting on the edge of the pool, looked at him. "Hey, Seto, why don't you come in?" He asked with a wide smile.

"I don't do pools, Mokuba. Besides, I'm too busy downloading our classwork." He replied, not taking his eyes off of the screen. Joey and Tristan stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

"Heh, you just don't want everyone to see how messed up your body is under all those clothes." Joey said, grinning. Kaiba looked at him as Tristan elbowed him in the abdomen. "Ow! Exposed abs, dude," the blonde rubbed the area his best friend hit.

"My body is much better than yours, Wheeler. I just don't show it off like you do." Joey growled at the now gleaming brunette.

"Ok, can we stop having arguments about who's hotter and relax please?" Olivia asked, sitting back in another beach chair with sun visors and a tanning mirror. Joey sighed.

"Olivia, why do you have all that gear if there's no sun?" Seto asked, finally looking up from his laptop.

"It's called using my imagination, Kaiba." She moved her visors down her nose and gave him a flirtatious look.

"Interesting," he looked at the blue, sleeping elephant Pokemon on the floor next to her.

"Hey, fellas, hope we aren't late?" Phoebe announced her and the others entering the building.

"The hotties have arrived." Joey said aloud, getting out of the pool and walking up to them. Shanice and Olivia glared at him.

"Who, me?" Yugi pointed to himself.

"Well, sure you are, pal." His best friend smirked, "but I was talking about the lovely ladies with you."

Phoebe smiled as Mikey blushed slightly. "Wow! How long did it take you to come up with that one, Joe?" The middle Kaiba sibling asked. The brown-eyed blonde laughed nervously. "Anyways, I'm going in." Phoebe removed her shorts and tank top, revealing a turquoise two-piece bikini with a blue wave pattern.

Yugi and Joey gawked at her. "Damn, Phoebe!" they exclaimed as both their faces glowed bright pink. Seto slapped his forehead and sighed.

"You look good, Phoebe." Tristan said from the pool.

"Thanks, I was having a hard time deciding on which swimsuit to wear." She giggled and walked to the pool with Yugi and Joey.

Mikey sat next to Kaiba on his chair. "Hey, what are you doing?" She asked, looking at him.

"Homework, plus managing Kaiba Corp." he answered, staring at her from the corner of his eye.

"You actually got our work?" She looked at the computer screen, but Kaiba immediately shut it.

"This stuff is none of your concern." He told her with his eyes closed. Mikey frowned.

"Hey, Mikey, come play with us." Joey said, smiling at her.

"Um, I don't do pools, sorry Joey."

The dirty blonde shook his head. "Come on, don't be shy."

"Joey, she said she doesn't want to come in, so leave her alone." Shanice rudely remarked.

"I was just offering."

"It's okay, guys. There's no need to argue." Mikey implied, leaning back in the chair to Kaiba's annoyance.

"Who said you could sit with me?"

"There's nowhere else to sit, besides the pool."

The aggravated brunette pointed to Olivia. "You can always sit with her." The lighter brunette sighed and went over to the sunbathing teen.

For the rest of the morning, the students played with each other in the pool. Joey and Tristan, along with Mokuba, played Marco Polo with Joey doing the searching. Tristan and Mokuba played him dumb by standing outside the pool and trying to hold back their snickering. Yugi sat at the pool's edge and swung his bare feet back-and-forth in the water. He stroked the blue fur of his sleeping fire Pokemon. Phoebe practiced her appeals with Vapor as Glacier and Ruby played tag with Brutroot, Nina, and Herben with the white ice type "it". Swallow and Perap circled around the inside of the building, playing flight tag with each other. Mikey looked on at her friends enjoying themselves.

* * *

After the group relaxed at the pool, they took a bus to the Brooklyn Bridge and walked across it. Everyone enjoyed the trip and the view of New York City. They even saw the Statue of Liberty which sat on the edge of Long Island. After making their way across, the gang took a thirty minute to an hour trip to the statue itself.

"Holy Hell, that thing is huge!" Shanice exclaimed, gasping and looking up at the green statue of Lady Liberty.

"It sure is. I may have lived here before, but I never seen it up close." Tristan said as he looked up also.

"She's hot!" Joey joked. Yugi and Phoebe sighed.

"So, what exactly are we here for?" Yugi asked Kaiba.

"Yearly flying lessons," he answered, holding his Pokeball.

Mikey swallowed hard. "Did you say, 'flying lessons'?"

"Every year, my brothers and I come here or just go to the Stratosphere and we fly on our dragon Pokemon. It's pretty sweet." Phoebe said. "I try to get Seto to do it more than once a year, but nope." She laughed. Mikey became uncomfortable.

"Wow! Are you saying we are going to learn how to fly today?" Olivia asked, eyes lighting up.

"Yeah," replied Mokuba happily.

"Um, your dragons won't drop us or crash, will they?" Joey asked.

"I'll especially make sure they drop you to see if pigs can fly." Kaiba sneered at him.

The blonde glared. "That didn't even make sense, rich boy!" He yelled and the others laughed. The brunette summoned his three dragon Pokemon: Blue, Dragonite, and Salamence and Phoebe summoned Ruby. The others had their main Pokemon by their sides during the training.

"Alright, here's how it goes," Kaiba began. "Two people, minus myself, will choose a dragon and fly up to the top of the statue. There, you each will wait five minutes before flying back down to the ground." Everyone looked up and now realized how high they would fly. "Anybody who wants to chicken out, can stand by me and watch everyone else. So, is there anyone staying out?" Yugi looked at a petrified Mikey, who just stood there, clutching Herben. "Good, now everyone, choose a dragon."

Mikey and Yugi chose Blue, Mokuba and Phoebe rode Ruby, Olivia and Tristan went with Salamence, and Shanice and Joey chose Dragonite. The trainers began their flight test. The orange dragon rose a little too quickly.

"Nyeh, easy there Dragonite," Joey grabbed onto Shanice's waist tightly.

"Do you mind, Wheeler?" She looked back at him, blushing.

"Sorry, Shay, he just went too fast." The dragon gave them an apologetic look.

The two on Salamence were enjoying their flight. "This is actually pretty fun," said Olivia.

"Yeah, no wonder they do this a lot." Tristan said back. The two and the blue dragon were hovering above the torch. Salamence looked up at his riders.

The two younger Kaibas and Ruby flew up to them. "Are you ready to go down?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah," both Olivia and Tristan voted in unison.

* * *

Five minutes later, "meet you down there." The two on the red and black dragon flew back down to the ground.

"Ready, Love?"

"Ready, T," they followed meeting Joey and Shanice on the way down.

"Are you feeling alright?" Yugi asked Mikey, knowing she wasn't.

"I'm fine, Yuge." She lied, "Come on."

Blue flapped her wings and started to fly up, passing Ruby and Salamence. Herben and Cindy were in Yugi's buttoned jacket. Yugi held onto Mikey as they slowly made their way to the top. As they moved closer, the brunette grew more afraid. The spiky-headed teen tried his best to calm her down.

"It's gonna be alright, Mike." As soon as he said that, however, a strong wind began to pick up, causing Mikey to panic even more. Joey and Shanice met up with them on their way down. Blue stopped in her tracks.

"You guys have to go down, now!" Joey yelled, holding Shanice tightly as she held onto Dragonite, who had Brutroot and Nina in his claws.

Yugi nodded. "Good idea, let's go, Blue." Just then, the two Pokemon in his jacket fell out. Yugi grabbed them with both hands, letting go of the girl in front of him. She fell off.

"Mikey!" Her friends screamed from their positions. Herben jumped onto Blue and used Vine Whip to catch her, but the combine force of the winds and her weight caused the Chikorita to fall as well. Perap and Swallow grabbed a hold of him with their talons. The vines unwrapped themselves from around Mikey's body and she continued to plummet, screaming horridly.

"NO!" Yugi screamed loudly, starting to cry. Blue could not move, for fear of dropping him. Kaiba quickly pulled out a Pokeball, but Ruby beat him to it by catching her in her claws. The trainers and Pokemon sighed in relief as the dragon/dark Pokemon landed, holding Mikey. She let her go.

"Are you okay, Mikey?" Joey asked, running to her side with Tristan and the girls. She hugged the blonde, crying. Yugi and Blue descended.

The purple eyed blonde ran up to them. "Is she okay?" He asked, voice breaking.

"She's fine, Yuge, just shook up." Joey told him in a melancholy tone. The weeping brunette turned her head to look at him. She hurried out of Joey's arms and straight into Yugi's.

He hugged her immediately. "I'm so sorry for letting you fall, Mikey." He cried also. Phoebe and Mokuba stood next to Seto.

"Is she gonna be okay, Phoebs?" Mokuba sincerely asked.

His sister stroked his hair. "Of course, Mokie," she smiled.

Seto scoffed and put his Pokeball away before his siblings saw it. "Please, you should have let her die." Yugi and Joey glared harshly at him. "Well it's true. It would mean less worthless junk to drag around with us." His crossed his arms and turned his back to them.

"Why you-" Joey began to issue and assault, but Shanice held him back.

"What's wrong with you, Kaiba?" The black-headed girl asked still holding Joey back. The brunette didn't answer and instead left with Blue and his Pokemon.

"Man, what a prick," the dirty blonde huffed, signaling he was calm. Shanice let him go.

Mikey looked at Phoebe. "Thank you, Phoebe." She weakly smiled.

"It was no problem at all. I'd hate to see someone like you die." The other brunette returned her smile and her Pokemon roared lightly.

"I guess Kaiba still has a deadly grudge against Mikey." Tristan said with his flying Pokemon perched on his shoulder.

"_Deadly grudge, Kaiba,_" Perap squawked. The brunette looked at him and returned him to his ball.

Swallow stood next to Yugi, who looked at him, "good job pal." The blue flying type smiled and ruffled his feathers. He then smiled at Mikey, rubbing her head. "I'm glad you're safe." The brunette blushed, looking up at him.

"Alright," Joey entangled his arm with Yugi's, forcing him to let Mikey go. "We better skedaddle before the cops show up. Let's get back to our rooms and pretend this never happened." The gang nodded and returned to their rooms, preparing for a montage of events the remaining days.

* * *

**~Day 3~**

The next day mostly consisted of the group of teens going to New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. It was a great place for grass Pokemon so Herben, Brutroot, and a new member of the team played with the other grass Pokemon. The new member was a Bulbasaur that Seto gave his brother before they left Las Vegas.

"When did you get a Bulbasaur?" Mikey asked.

"Seto gave it to me to feel safe, just in case we were to separate." The long, black haired teen smiled.

Joey looked up at the brown colored bird Pokemon flying above him. He pulled out a ball. "Guess you can play with all of the other Pidgey. Go!" He tossed the red and white ball and out popped a similar looking bird Pokemon, only green. The tiny bird went to play with the others.

"That was a cool looking Pidgey." Mikey complimented with Mokuba still beside her.

Joey looked at her. "I thought so too."

Yugi and Cindy sat under a tree filled with cherry Pokemon, Cherubi. Shanice and Nina chased some pink egg Pokemon, Exeggcute but were then chased by a coconut Pokemon known as Exeggutor. Kaiba was on his laptop as Blue rested next to him. A little seed Pokemon fell from the branches of the tree above him, landing on his head. The usually cold-hearted teen smiled and picked up the Seedot. Its humanoid plant-looking evolutions, Nuzleaf and Shiftry looked at him as they were handed the grass Pokemon. They ran off laughing playfully. Tristan danced with the weed Pokemon Oddish, along with its flower evolutions Vileplume and Bellossom. Perap provided them with the music. Olivia admired the floating cotton ball Pokemon. They were Hoppip the pink, Skiploom the green, and Jumpluff the indigo one. Phanpy, Olivia's little blue elephant Pokemon named Eli, played with Bulbasaur, Herben, and Brutroot. Phoebe practiced her appeals as Mokuba watched.

* * *

**~Day 4~**

That morning, the group was hanging out in one of the rooms doing their classwork. They each did their separate assignments and emailed them using Mikey's laptop.

By that afternoon, they decided to go to a wildlife center in Queens. The center was filled with animals and Pokemon. In the ponds were ducks, swans, and yellow and blue duck Pokemon called Psyduck and Golduck. They looked up at Yugi, Joey, and Tristan's bird Pokemon flying above them. Olivia played with the rabbits and brown bunny Pokemon, Buneary. Joey and his Turtwig, Brutroot got chased by black/grey wolf Pokemon, Mightyena. Yugi and Shanice petted some lambs and some sheep Pokemon, Mareep as their Pokemon rode on some wild bulls known as Tauros. Phoebe practiced her battling portion of the contest by pitting her Vaporeon up against a back, fire breathing hound with devil horns, Houndoom. Mikey and Mokuba, with their grass Pokemon, played hide-and-seek with some badger and ferret Pokemon, Linoone and Furret. Everyone was enjoying a beautiful afternoon.

Seto stood outside the wildlife center, looking in with his arms crossed. "Enjoy your fun while it lasts." He said with a scoff before walking off through the city.

* * *

That evening, the group of friends walked down the streets of Manhattan.

"Hey, does anybody know where rich boy ran off to?" Joey finally asked.

"He didn't tell me anything, so who knows?" Phoebe responded, starting to worry.

"Well, wherever he is, I'm sure Kaiba can take care of himself." Yugi pointed out, not caring at all. A black yoyo rolled out from a nearby alleyway.

"Cool, it's a yoyo." Mokuba, being the kid he was, ran to get it. Before he could reach it, six different colored yoyos attacked him from above. Phoebe swiftly pulled him back before they could make contact. Evil laughs could be heard above. The gang looked up as the toys were returned to their owners.

"Oh shit, not these guys again." Joey said, glaring up at the group of young men.

"What's a matter, Joey? Sad we didn't give you a warmer welcome?" A redhead with a blue hat said, smoking a cigarette and holding a red yoyo.

"It's been awhile." A dark brown haired greaser added, holding a yellow yoyo.

"Too long if you ask me," mentioned a mean looking blonde with literal spikes as hair and with a green yoyo.

"Listen, why don't you leave us alone and we might not tell the police you're back in town." Tristan glared coldly at them.

"That won't be necessary, Taylor," came a deep voice form the alley. A man with blonde hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a black shirt and jeans came out and smiled at him and Joey. He had the black yoyo in his hand. "How are my two favorite former members doing?" The two boys wanted to kill him, but Shanice and Olivia held them back.

"You snake, how dare you show yourself around these parts again!" Joey snarled with his fist raised.

"Yeah," Tristan agreed.

"Yugi, who are these guys?" Mikey whispered.

"Around here, they were known as the 'Wild Gang'. I suppose they still are. They are a ruthless group of thugs who pick fights, do drugs, and other bad habits." Yugi held his puzzle tightly. "Joey and Tristan use to be a part of it, but left when they realized the horrible things they were doing. They also came to Vegas at one point to-"

"Quiet Yuge!" Joey hissed. "She doesn't need to know everything."

"I wanna know. Those creeps almost hurt my brother!" Phoebe barked out still holding Mokuba.

"So, who are you?" Shanice asked the blonde leader.

"The name's Diesel Kane." He and the others raised their yoyos and spikes came out of the sides. Six more members snuck up behind them with spiked yoyos.

A heavy minion had a purple yoyo; a black haired one had a white yoyo; a blonde with a pink one; and a bald member with a brown yoyo. A final member, wearing a baseball cap, held a taser.

"These guys are crazy!" Olivia cried out, grabbing her boyfriend who held her. Phoebe protected her brother.

"Why, thank you, my pink haired friend." Diesel smirked. Mikey, afraid, backed up and was grabbed by a green haired minion holding a knife. The friends gasped in shock.

"Let her go, you creep!" Joey prepared to punch him, then the twelve gang members aimed their weapons at them. The six on the roof jumped down and surrounded them. The green haired follower gave Mikey to Diesel.

He held her tightly. "Aren't you pretty?" He laughed. Yugi tried to save her, but Diesel pulled a switchblade to her throat.

Yugi gulped hard. "Y-You wouldn't?" He stuttered.

"Oh I would and Joey knows it, right Wheeler?" Diesel said with a sadistic smirk. The dirty blonde growled and went in for the attack.

"Joey, don't!" His friends pleaded, but were ignored. Diesel raised his yoyo and flicked the spiked toy-weapon at his face, lacerating his left cheek.

"Joey!" Yugi grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him back with the group. Joey held his bloody cheek.

"I told you not to mess with me. Haven't you learned your lesson, Wheeler?" The yoyo gang leader asked, still smirking. He looked at Mikey, "and you know what we do to cute girls like your friend here." The wild gang members snickered. Mikey had a horrified look on her face.

"Come on, Diesel, this is nuts. Just let her go and go home. Please." Shanice pleaded, frightened. Yugi's puzzle glowed and Yami appeared.

"Or you will have to deal with me," he glared. "You know how I can get."

"Yami, help!" Mikey screamed, but was then muffled when Diesel covered her mouth with his hand.

"Don't try your voodoo magic on me again, kid." Diesel said, raising the blade. The yoyo wielders prepared to attack with their yoyos.

"Yuge, get back." Joey warned, holding his face. The spirit growled and back away next to him.

Diesel cackled. "Anyone else wanna play hero?" A gun was then put to the right side of his head.

"Let her go," came the gun-holder's voice. Diesel looked to the corner of his eye and saw Seto Kaiba.

"Seto!" Phoebe and Mokuba gasped.

"Seto Kaiba comes to save the day, huh." The blonde smirked.

"Listen Kane, don't think I won't pull the trigger and blow your fucking head off, cause I will." The brunette retorted, rubbing the switch with his index finger. "I have very little patience for bullies."

"Seto, please don't!" Phoebe begged.

"Go ahead, Mr. Show-off, if you got the guts." Diesel edged. Diesel's possy swung their spiked yoyos at Seto.

"Kaiba! Seto!" The others called out. Two green vines then wrapped themselves around the yoyos, pulling the minions forward onto the ground.

"That's it!" Diesel Kane went to cut Mikey's throat as Kaiba started to pull the trigger. Mikey screamed, however, before anyone was hurt, a smoke screen enveloped the area.

The Pokemon trainers escaped and the Wild Gang were left stunned and coughing. Kaiba grabbed Mikey's hand and pulled her away from Diesel. The smoke finally cleared and the gang noticed the kids were missing.

"Fuck," Diesel cursed. "You haven't seen the last of me!"

* * *

The teens ran to the hospital to fix Joey's face after it was brutally cut by the yoyo.

"Ow! Take it easy, doc." Joey whimpered from the feeling of ice cold tissue rubbing blood off his face.

"Sorry, Mr. Wheeler, but I have to clean up the wound." The doctor told him, removing the rest of the blood, revealing a long scratch from the bottom of his ear to the bottom of his cheek.

"Is he going to be okay?" Shanice asked, looking into the window.

"Of course, Joey's been through worse." Tristan said with a smile.

"The important thing is, we were able to escape; but who used the Vine Whip?" Yugi, as Yami wondered, holding his Cyndaquil. The fire Pokemon was the cause of the smokescreen earlier.

"That would be me." Jocelyn said, walking into the halls with her Bayleef by her side.

"Why did you help us?" Phoebe asked.

"I help coordinators in trouble. We need to stick together, right?" The blonde-brunette smirked.

Joey came out of the medical room with a bandage on his face. "Hey, dudes." He smiled.

"Joey!" Shanice hugged him.

"Heh, I see somebody was worried." Joey smiled, rubbing her head.

Kaiba walked up to them with Mikey next to him.

"Yo," the brunette greeted, raising his gun to Joey.

"Nyeh!" He grabbed the Millennium Puzzle around Yami's neck. "Quick, get him, Yugi." His body shook. Yami looked at him puzzled.

Kaiba laughed and put the weapon in his belt. "Chill, Wheeler, if I were to do that, I'd do it outside, not here."

"Am I the only one who's afraid of being around moneybags?" Joey nervously asked, still hiding behind Yami.

"Yup," everyone replied.

"I'll be leaving now. See you tomorrow, Phoebe." The Bayleef trainer announced, waving and walking away with her leaf Pokemon.

"Hey, um, thanks for helping us out back there." Joey thanked with a small smile.

"I did what I had to do," was all she said and left.

"Wow, she reminds me of Kaiba." Tristan said grinning at the aforementioned dragon trainer.

"I don't see the similarities." Seto said, crossing his arms.

"Big brother!" Mokuba bear hugged him.

"Are you okay?" The Kaiba sister asked.

"Yes," Seto said, hugging his little brother.

Yami walked up to Mikey. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I just have a small cut on my neck, but nothing a rag can't take care of." She said.

"Aright, that's enough excitement for one night. Let's get back to our rooms and prepare for tomorrow." Phoebe said, referring to her contest.

* * *

Later that night, Kaiba was standing outside one of the rooms.

Phoebe opened the door. "So, how did it go?" She asked.

He handed her a packet. "You have to fill that out by tomorrow night." Her brother told her.

"Got it, bro," she smiled. Kaiba peeked inside the room and saw Yami sitting on the bed with Mikey's head on his lap as she slept.

"Is he going to stay like that forever?" He asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Phoebe shook her head. "Nope, he just wants to protect her is all." Her brother scoffed and walked back to his room.

"Goodnight, Seto," saluted Phoebe. He waved his hand to her as he went to his room.

"Who was that?" Yami asked.

"Just Seto, he gave me a college application to fill out." Phoebe smiled. Her spiky-haired friend returned her smile.

* * *

**~Day 5~**

Fast-forward to 1:30PM, contest time. Phoebe and friends arrived at the special Pokemon Contest building in New York that was dead center of Time Square.

"Good thing we made it in time. The traffic was murder." Tristan said, breathing heavily after he and the others ran to make it promptly, "and I do mean the traffic of people." He laughed.

"Well, let's go wait in the waiting room, while Phoebe gets ready." Joey said as he walked down the hall. The others followed. The group of trainers found the room and was amazed at the size of it.

"This joint is a lot bigger than the one in Vegas." Tristan said, sitting down on one of the chairs. He looked up at the television. "This one's even got a flat screen TV."

"Do you guys, like it?" Phoebe asked, walking in with her usual contest outfit. Seto walked up next to her.

"Yeah, Phoebs, it's amazing." Mokuba replied by the food stand.

"Whoa! Come to papa." Joey ran over to Mokuba's side. "They even have goodies." He licked his lips. "So who wants to visit Joey's stomach first?" Mokuba and Phoebe laughed as everyone else sighed.

"Observe the Joey Wheeler in their natural habitat." Seto joked, snickering. Everyone laughed and Joey looked at him with food in his mouth.

"Up yours, rich boy," he said, with his mouth full. His friends continued to laugh.

"I see you guys made it after all." Jocelyn said walking up to Joey with her Bayleef.

Mokuba smiled, "hey Joce." He greeted.

"Well, aren't you a cutie?" Jocelyn told the little boy, patting his black hair. The raven haired boy blushed.

"That's our brother." Phoebe said, glaring at her.

"Nice to see you too Phoebe," the coordinator walked up to her, then looked at Seto. "Well if isn't 'Guns & Roses'. " She smirked at him.

"Ha ha, ha very funny," he rolled his eyes.

Jocelyn looked back at Phoebe. "Nice outfit, almost looks like the one you wore for the Vegas contest and EVERY other contest you entered."

"I like to wear this for contests." The brunette girl defended.

"Well, I better get going." She turned around. "See you in the contest battles, Phoebs. That is, if you can make it that far." The blonde-brunette chuckled.

"She'll do better than you." Seto growled.

"Ooh, the big bad brother defends his baby sister." Another smirk curls over Jocelyn's lips as she walks out of the room, laughing.

"Thanks, Seto, but I don't need backup." Phoebe assured her brother, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You better beat her. She's a major bitch." He told her, calmly but still aggravated.

* * *

The contest then began.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the New York, New York Pokemon Contest!" The MC announced from center stage. She looked identical to Vivian, only wearing blue shorts and a shirt, revealing her midriff and a blue cap. She explained the rules of the contest and that they were similar to the Las Vegas contest. This one would be a Beauty Contest as well with beauty type moves being the most appealing, cute and cool moves being average, and smart and tough not so much. The judges were none other than Mr. Contesta and Sukizo again; also joining them was New York's Nurse Joy wearing a hat with a purple cross.

"Hopefully Phoebe will make it to the finals." Joey said, holding Brutroot.

"Hey, Joey, why is your Turtwig out?" Mokuba asked.

"He wanted to get a front row seat at a good show." He laughed and his grass Pokemon laughed with him.

"Our first contestant is Jocelyn McKinley from Topaz City, Neo." The crowd clapped and hollered as the blonde-brunette slowly, but gracefully walked onto the stage.

"It figures they'd let HER go first." Joey said with his head leaning on his arm.

"Well, at least we'd get to see why she's so well known in the Neo Region." Yugi said, watching her closely.

Jocelyn held her Pokeball. "Let's go, Bayleef!" She tossed the ball and the evolved form of Chikorita emerged with a spiral of pink petals around it. The grass Pokemon opened its eyes as the petals disappeared.

"Man, those expert coordinators love to use those seal cases." Tristan said.

"Hmph, only amateurs would say that." Seto said, looking at him.

"Well excuse me for not being a Pokemon Contest expert, Kaiba." The brown-eyed brunette huffed.

"Shh!" Olivia and Shanice were trying to focus on Jocelyn's performance.

"Sweet Scent, Bayleef," the leaf Pokemon raised its half bitten leaf and gave off a spray of pink perfume that filled the room. "Now use Magical Leaf." Bayleef twisted its leaf, again without moving any other part of its body, and released multi-colored leaves that were attracted to the scent and turned it from sweet to bitter. The leaves disappeared and sparkles covered the arena.

"That was actually impressive." Seto said, reluctantly admiring Bayleef's move combination.

"Now, Razor Leaf!" Bayleef finally moved, standing on its heels and yielding more leaves that were only green this time. "Natural Gift!" The grass Pokemon's eyes glowed green and it spat out orbs of a chartreuse color that slashed the leaves into tiny pieces that returned the smell in the room to a sweet scent.

"Wow! Jocelyn used one move to make the room smell sweet, then one to make it bitter, and returned it to sweet. That girl is talented!" Joey exclaimed in awe. Yugi, Seto, and Tristan glared at him. "What?" He looked at them confused.

"Finish this with Safeguard." Bayleef made a stance with its front legs stretched out and its hind legs out further in that direction. Its body began to glow a lime green, which amazed the crowd and returned the room to its normal aroma before the performance began.

"_Bay, bay,_" the grass Pokemon wagged its stubby tail, signaling the end of its round.

"What a beautifully smelling performance from Ms. McKinley and her Bayleef. Let's give them a hand, guys." Lillian the MC said in admiration as everyone applauded.

The dimwitted dirty blonde also applauded. Tristan punched him in the head. "Why are you clapping, Joey?"

"Hey, it was a good show and I think I know what to use for cologne." Joey said, rubbing his head. He looked at Mikey, next to him. "Your Chikorita wouldn't happen to know that move, would he?"

"I don't know." The little brunette smiled a little at him.

"Thank God I'm a guy." Seto said, sighing.

"What's that suppose to mean, Kaiba?" The Turtwig trainer asked with his fist raised. Everyone laughed like always when Kaiba makes a snide remark about Joey.

* * *

Lillian announced the next coordinator, Téa Gardner. Everyone watched as the enthusiastic brunette took the stage.

"I never knew Téa was a coordinator?" Tristan asked.

"Well she does love to dance and she lives here…" Olivia began to say.

"_It would be interesting to see what she can do._" Yami said next to Yugi.

"Yeah, sure," the spiky haired blonde didn't pay attention to anyone but the girl on stage. Téa looked up and around the audience, until she spotted him. She waved at him, smiling. Yugi couldn't help but blush. 'Why do I still have feelings for her?' He thought in shame.

"Alright, Azumarill, show time!" Téa tossed the ball-in-case and, in an explosion of bubbles, the blue rabbit Pokemon appeared with a cry.

"Looks like she's using her Azumarill." Shanice said.

"Odd, she and Jocelyn both used the same Pokemon they used to battle Mikey and Phoebs with." Mokuba said. Brutroot was climbing on his head. "Hey!"Joey took his Pokemon back.

"Bad Brutroot, bad-Ow!" The Turtwig bit his owner's index finger. Seto laughed. "Shut up, rich boy!" The blonde growled shaking his finger.

"Anyway, back to Mokuba's statement, what's your point?" Tristan questioned.

"Well, if Jocelyn is a master coordinator, wouldn't she use a variety and doesn't Téa have other Pokemon?"

"It could be that they are waiting for the second round. After all, coordinators can use a total of two Pokemon in a contest." Seto told his little brother.

"Start off with Defense Curl!" Téa finally began. The rabbit Pokemon curl up in a ball.

"I bet I know what's coming next." Tristan said, remembering the double battle that Mokuba spoke of.

"Rollout!" The balled up water type rolled in place. "Now, use Ice Beam to create a ramp." The water Pokemon obeyed and began to roll around, creating a ramp of ice. The ice escaped Azumarill's mouth and surrounded her, which in turn made anything she touched turn to ice. The Pokemon finally jumped, which made the sculpture in question. She stopped when she got to the top and unrolled herself.

"That was a swe-" Joey wanted to say, but everyone, aside from Yugi, gave him a dirty look. "Heh, never mind."

"However, it was creative." Seto stated. Everyone then looked at him. "What?" He asked.

Back to the performance, "Azumarill, Bounce attack."

"_Azuma…_" The rabbit curled her tail and bounce up into the air. The crowd all looked up at her as she then descended back down toward the icy ramp. "_Marill!_" The blue Pokemon broke the ramp in tiny ice pieces with her powerful tail.

"Quickly, finish things with Aqua Ring." Téa commanded her Pokemon. Azumarill's body glowed light blue and several rings enveloped her, absorbing the chunks of ice. She then released the stored ice particles, which exploded into smaller sparkles that made the audience gawk in awe.

"Thank you for that amazing performance, Téa." Lillian congratulated. Téa smiled and walked off the stage to meet up with Jocelyn, who waited by the exit. Téa returned Azumarill to her Pokeball.

"Well, looks like the only performance we need to watch now is Phoebe's." Joey said with a huge grin.

"I'll go check on her. You guys take a break." Mikey offered, standing up in the aisle.

"Alright, Mike, see you in a few." Joey said, grabbing Yugi and Tristan by their shoulders. "You two, come with me to get something to eat. I'm starving." Yugi and Tristan sighed.

"I'll be outside for a moment." Kaiba said, leaving immediately after.

"I guess Lovely and I will tag with you, Mike." Shanice said, arm over Olivia's shoulder. Mikey nodded.

* * *

"Both Téa and Jocelyn really know how to show off their Pokemon's beauty and power." Phoebe said to her Vaporeon in the waiting room.

"_True, but I believe in you, Phoebe._" Vapor said, wagging her mermaid tail.

Phoebe smiled. "You're right."

"Hey, Phoebster, how you holding up." Shanice said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh Shanice, you scared me." The brunette jumped a tad at the darker girl's touch.

"Sorry," she gave her an apologetic smile.

"Are you ready for your appeal round?" Olivia asked.

"You bet I am." She stood up with a fist made.

"Remember, we're all behind you. Your friends and your brothers." Mikey told her. "So, get out there and show the city of New York what the Kaibas can do." She gave her thumbs up.

"Right," the other brunette mimicked her gesture.

* * *

After the other coordinators performed, it was time for the final trainer in the preliminaries. Phoebe stood center stage holding a ball-in-case.

"Alright, Vapor, take the stage girl!" The ball erupted with bubbles and a large star and Vapor appeared somersaulting in the air, till it landed on stage with cry, bubbles floating around her.

"Go, get'em, Phoebe!" Joey cheered with a mouth full of popcorn.

"Are you gonna share those?" Mokuba asked, Brutroot still climbing on his head unbeknownst to him this time.

"Ok, girl, Bubble," Vapor opened her mouth and tiny, clear bubbles left and ascended toward the ceiling. "Now, pop them with Water-Gun." The purple water type sprayed a blast of water and popped every last bubble, which in turn only made them separate into smaller balls of gas and water. "How about a Hydro Pump." Phoebe told her Pokemon. The bubbles then encircled the blue-eyed brunette, as she spun around. Vapor scurried to her trainer and released a more powerful force of water than Water-Gun, which also circled around Phoebe and completely popped all of the bubbles. Phoebe jumped out of the cyclone of sparkles. "Baton Pass," she tossed a white baton at Vapor, who bit down on it and returned to her Pokeball in a ray of red light. A beam of white light left another one of Phoebe's Pokeballs and Glacier appeared in her place. "Glacier, finish with Sheer Cold!" The shiny ice Pokemon's eyes glowed light blue and released a powerful blizzard from her fur and mouth, completely freezing the particles and the position of the popped bubbles coincidently made an ice necklace. The performance finally ended and the crowd was in an uproar.

"Yeah, that's our girl!" Joey yelled, wrapping his arm around Mokuba's neck, happily causing the Turtwig on his head to roll off onto the ground. "Oops, sorry Brutroot." The raven haired boy laughed.

"Great job, Phoebe!" Mikey, Shanice, and Olivia told her from their seats. Phoebe smiled.

'Good job, sis, I knew you could pull off a brilliant performance.' Seto thought to himself with a grin.

* * *

"Hey, congratulations on making it to the second round, Phoebe," Yugi said giving her a high-five.

"Thanks, Yugi." She smiled.

"Looks like you'll be facing Téa in the semifinals. How do you feel?" Shanice asked, sitting on the bench next to her.

"I don't know. I never saw her battle before, so this could be fun." The brunette beamed.

"Yeah, well, just give your all out there." Joey said, going to take a bite of his hotdog, but Nina the Nidoran beat him to it. "Hey!" He glared at the poison pin Pokemon, who smiled at him with glee.

"I will guys, thanks." Phoebe held Vapor's ball in her hand. "Let's go, Vapor." Phoebe and her friends left the room and made their way to the stage. Phoebe was stopped by her brother before she could follow them.

"Good luck, sis, I know you can crush her." Seto said, back leaning against the wall.

"Thanks, Seto, but are you coming?"

He shook his head. "I'm not gonna sit with the others. I'll watch it here instead."

Phoebe frowned, "oh." Her big brother rubbed her head with a smile and then walked back into the waiting room.

* * *

The battle round of the contest was underway, the quarterfinals have passed, and the semi-finals have arrived. Téa Gardner and Phoebe Kaiba were to face each other in the first match.

"Ready, Téa?" Phoebe asked.

"I am." She replied.

"Ok, Vapor, go!" The purple cat-fish hybrid exited the Pokeball.

"Togetic, Showtime!" Téa tossed her Pokeball and an angelic Pokemon with blue and red triangular rings on her belly with a spiky head and little wings emerged, hovering above her trainer.

"Guess Téa's Togepi evolved." Yugi said.

Joey looked at him. "Oh yeah, isn't that the one you gave her?" His little buddy nodded.

"I'll go first. Vapor, Rain Dance." The bubble jet Pokemon's eyes glowed blue and after it let out a cry, filled the room with a small drizzle.

"Aw man, I hate rain." Joey took off his jacket and covered his head with it.

Mokuba looked up at Brutroot. "You must really like me. Good thing you have a wide, round shell to protect us from the rain.

"_You're welcome, Mokuba._" The turtle Pokemon said to him with a wide grin.

"Make a wish, Togetic." Téa told her Pokemon. The happiness Pokemon flew up to the ceiling and released a small star from one of the rings on her tummy that disappeared upon contact with the top.

"I know what she's planning on doing." Yugi said, gritting his teeth.

"Now, strike with Magical Leaf!" Togetic flapped her now glowing wings and relinquished a dozen multi-colored leaves.

"Vapor, Agility," the shiny Pokemon ran around the stage, dodging the leaves as best as she could. However, the grass type move struck her twelve times. "Shit, I forgot Magical Leaf never misses."

Téa laughed. "Togetic, Sweet Kiss." The normal/flying type puckered up and blew a kiss that made contact with Vapor, making her confused and dizzy.

"Eww, that ain't good." Tristan commented, raising an eyebrow.

"No problem, use Haze." A black gas filled the stage and when it reseeded, the Vaporeon was healthy.

"I didn't think her Pokemon new Haze." Olivia said.

"Duh, that's why she was calm when Togetic used Sweet Kiss." Mokuba said.

"We'll see about that, go Tri Attack! [3]" One of Togetic's red triangles glowed and it separated from her belly, heading for Vapor.

"Strike back with Hydro Pump!" Vapor sprayed a powerful force of water that slammed into the flying type, but not before her, herself was paralyzed from Tri Attack.

"Ha! What have you got to say about that?" Téa gloated as her Pokemon stood up.

"Well not much, except Hydration." Phoebe smirked.

"What?" Vapor's body then began to glow, healing her status ailment and raising her HP by 3%.

"My Vaporeon has a special ability known as Hydration and when it's raining, she can heal 3% of her original HP." The rain then stopped. Togetic also gained back 2% of her HP. "What? How did your Togetic get back HP?"

"Don't you remember the wish my Pokemon made at the beginning of our match?"

Phoebe remembered. "Oh yeah, guess I forgot."

Téa looked at the clock and saw only ten seconds left. "Finish this with Hidden Power."

"Surf!" Vapor leaped and sprayed some water below her, creating a wave. Togetic's body glowed and she released orbs of yellowish white light. The attacks collided, but time stopped. Vapor had 75% HP and Togetic had 72% HP left. Vapor wins.

"Return, Togetic." Téa held up her Pokeball and returned her defeated Pokemon.

"Good job, Vapor." Phoebe hugged her purple Pokemon who wagged her tail victorious. She looked at Téa and smiled. "That was a great battle, Tea."

Téa smiled back. "Thanks, Phoebe." She grabbed her hand and shook it. "Good luck in the finals."

"Thanks." She returned Vapor to her Pokeball.

* * *

"That was a well fought battle. Who knows who would have won if time didn't run out." Joey said.

"Yeah," Brutroot hung onto Mokuba's face. "What the hell, Brutroot."

"_Me hug, Mokuba,_" The turtle Pokemon wouldn't let go. Bulbasaur's vines unlatched the grass Pokemon from his trainer's face.

"Thanks and sorry Brutroot. It's just hard to breathe." The young boy said with a weak smile.

"Anyways, who do you think you're going up against, next?" Yugi asked.

"She's going up against Jocelyn." Seto said from the doorway.

"How do you know?" Shanice asked.

"They just announced it, while you dweebs were messing around."

"Aw man, did you hear that Phoebe?" Joey asked, holding Brutroot.

"I did. Guess I'll be facing the Neo Contest Champion." Phoebe said.

"Hey," Olivia looked around. "Where's Mikey?"

"That girl always goes missing." Tristan scratched his head.

"She's outside." Seto told them, pointing outside to the left.

"I'll get her. My next match starts in a few and I wouldn't want her to miss it." The turquoise eyed teen offered and left.

* * *

Outside, Mikey was petting an orange dog-lion Pokemon with cream colored hair and black stripes covering its body.

"Good, Arcanine," She smiled. The Pokemon looked at her and purred.

"What are you doing to my Pokemon?" Jocelyn said, walking up behind her.

"Uh, I was only petting it."

"Well, don't he's my Pokemon, not yours." The blonde-brunette glared at her as the legendary Pokemon walked to her side.

"Sorry," the young brunette frowned.

"Hey, Mike." Phoebe called. She then looked at her next opponent. "Is that your Arcanine?" She looked at the orange Pokemon.

"Yes, and he's very powerful, so I hope you're ready to lose." The Arcanine trainer sneered before walking back into the contest hall with him.

"That bitch," Phoebe said under her breath.

"Wait, so you're battling her next?" Mikey asked.

"Yup, I better get going too. See you on stage." She waved to her friend and returned to the building.

"Good luck," the other teen gloomily said before following her.

* * *

Back inside the main room of the contest hall, the final battle was about to begin. Jocelyn McKinley and Phoebe Kaiba both stood on stage, giving the other death glares.

"I hope you're ready. Arcanine, go!" The fire Pokemon left its ball with a growl.

"This is it, Vapor. Let's do this!" The water Pokemon emerged with a cry. Arcanine immediately roared at her when she appeared, intimidating her. "What just happened?"

"My Arcanine has the ability Intimidate, which lowers your total attack power." Jocelyn said. "Arcanine, let's start off with Extreme Speed." The dog-lion hybrid strut his body and ran for Vapor.

"Jump!" Vapor did as her trainer commanded and quickly dodged the attack. "Now, Rain Dance." The bubble jet feline Pokemon summoned a rain storm the exact same way as earlier.

"Burn her with Flare Blitz!" The fire Pokemon's body erupted in flames and in a flash, headed for Vapor.

"Slow him down with Bubblebeam!" Vapor swiftly spat out many forceful bubbles that, when hitting Arcanine, slowed him down to a stop.

Jocelyn growled. "So, you think you're hotshit, huh?"

"Nope, I just know that Bubblebeam slows down a Pokemon." Phoebe said, smiling.

"That's not all. Because it is raining, water moves are doubled, while fire moves are halved. This gives Vapor a huger advantage against Arcanine more than she already has." Shanice said.

"Alright, go Phoebe!" Mokuba cheered.

"Yeah, show them who the real champion is." Joey followed.

'I wouldn't get happy just yet.' Seto thought to himself. 'Arcanine maybe a fire type, but that doesn't give him a complete disadvantage.'

"Fire Blast! Hydro Pump!" The two mammal Pokemon unleashed the most powerful moves of their elements that collided together. Fire Blast looked like a human-shaped flame that struck the force of aqua.

"Alright, we'll see how tough you really are." Phoebe said and looked at her Pokemon. "Vapor, Aqua Tail." Water appeared, encircling the Vaporeon's tail and she quickly went in for the attack.

Jocelyn smirked. "That's exactly what I wanted you to do."

Phoebe gasped. "What?"

"Arcanine, Thunder Fang!"

"Oh no!" Joey and Tristan cried out from their seats.

"Arcanine can use electric attacks too?" Olivia asked.

"That's right." Jocelyn said as her fire Pokemon's mouth began to electrically charge. He bit down on Vapor's tail, causing her to scream in pain and become paralyzed.

"Vapor!" Phoebe cried. "Are you okay?" Vapor looked at her, weakly.

"_Phoebe, I can barely stand._" The shiny Pokemon could not move.

"I had a feeling." Seto said, calmly.

"So, you knew?" Yugi asked.

"Of course, Arcanine are capable of learning elemental fang attacks. There's also one electric type move that it can learn." He explained, closing his eyes.

"Spit it out, Kaiba!" Joey growled.

"You'll see," was all he said in reply.

"Why you-"

"Joey, just watch the match." Mikey said, preventing an unnecessary fight.

Jocelyn cackled. "You'll never win now. Why don't you cry home to your mommy? Oh wait, you don't have a mommy." She laughed evilly again. Phoebe gasped, feelings hurt.

"That bitch!" Seto growled, standing up.

"Not cool, Jocelyn, that's overdoing it." Phoebe said, now enraged.

"Who cares?" Her opponent continued to be insulting.

"Phoebe, listen," her older brother said as she turned to him. "You can't let her get away with that." He growled again. "Show her that our mother was a great coordinator."

"Man, that's deep." Tristan said.

"Well, he does make a good point. If my mom wasn't around anymore and someone said something bad about her, I'd be pissed too." Olivia said, looking at her boyfriend.

Phoebe slowly smiled. 'Seto's right and I have just the move that will do it.' She gave her brother thumbs up. "Thanks, bro." Seto nodded and sat back down.

"Are you done yet?" Jocelyn asked, bored. "I would like to win now."

Phoebe looked at the clock that read a minute. "I'd hate to break it to you, but I'm gonna win now." She looked at her enemy.

"How?" Jocelyn asked in disbelief. "Your Pokemon has only 1% left, thanks to my electric attack combined with the rain." The rain then cleared, but not before un-paralyzing Vapor due to her Hydration ability.

"Just go." Phoebe said, annoyed.

"Gladly, Arcanine, finish her with Wild Charge!" Her Pokemon's body again erupted into a force of energy, but this time, electricity. He headed straight for Vapor.

Phoebe grinned. "I was waiting for that."

Jocelyn gasped. "No, you couldn't have-"

"Vapor, Last Resort! [4]" Phoebe commanded her Pokemon.

Her big brother smiled. "Nice one, Phoebs."

"What does that do?" Jocelyn asked, backing away.

"You'll see." Phoebe smirked. Vapor's body began to glow in a multitude of colors. "Attack!" The water Pokemon let out a shrilly howl. Arcanine continued to charge at her. Vapor raised her tail and slammed it into the running dog-lion, knocking him out cold.

"The winner is Phoebe Kaiba!" Lillian announced, merrily. Vapor breathed heavily.

"You did it, Vapor!" The victorious coordinator hugged her Pokemon.

"_I do anything I can to make you happy._" She smiled, wagging her tail.

"Hey, there's our girl!" Joey ran onto the stage and hugged her.

"Congrats on winning, Phoebe," Yugi said holding out his hand. Joey let her go.

"Thanks, Yugi." She high-fived him.

"You won, Phoebs!" Mokuba jumped into his sister's arms.

"I did, but I couldn't have done it without you guys." She smiled.

"Awesome! Now we are even." Mikey said, winking. Phoebe smiled again.

"I knew you would win." Kaiba said, standing behind his sister.

She turned to look at him. "Thank you, Seto."

"Ms. Kaiba," Lillian walked up to her, holding a ribbon. "I believe this belongs to you." She handed the blue ribbon with a medium sized, triangular brooch with white stripes on the ribbon.

'I finally got one ribbon.' The brunette thought to herself as she looked at her brothers and friends smiling at her. 'All I need is four more and I'll be competing in the Grand Festival.' She held up her ribbon, triumphant.

**To be continued...**

[3] Togetic has the ability Serene Grace making Tri Attack have a 40% chance of paralyzing, burning, or freezing (each now having a 13.34% chance).

[4] Last Resort is changed dramatically from the games. It now can work when user has 5% of its HP left or below.

**Contest Scores: In this order: Contesta, Sukizo, and Nurse Joy  
**

**Phoebe (9.0, 8.8, 9.6=27.4)**  
**Tea (9, 9, 9=27)**

**Jocelyn (9.5, 8.0, 9.5=27)**


	11. Gold State Digger

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. Wow, this one's short compared to the previous chapters. Enjoy!...hopefully.

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon/spirit cries/speech

'normal': thinking

'_italic_': Pokemon/spirit thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**Gold-State-Digger**

* * *

Phoebe had just won the New York City ribbon and her 11th ribbon overall. It was over two years ago when she started competing in contests, winning five ribbons each year, but never winning the Grand Championship. She hopes this time would be different. She, her friends, and family had a quick celebration in one of the rooms that night. Joey pulled out a bottle of champagne and some glasses.

"A special girl plus a special occasion deserves a super special drink." The dirty blonde grinned.

"More like 'special Ed'," Shanice said. "We're under aged, Wheeler."

Tristan grabbed the bottle. "Hey, I'll have some." He said, smiling.

"Tristan!" Olivia did not like him drinking alcohol.

"Oh come on, babe, why do you think it's called CHAMP-agne? Besides, it will only be a small amount." The brunette pleaded. Joey nodded his head in agreement.

"Just let the yahoos have their fun." Kaiba said from the couch.

"Kaiba's right. You guys enjoy your bubbly and we'll have soda or something." Yugi said from the bed closest to the door.

"I want some." Phoebe told Joey.

"Aw, sweet!" He quickly popped off the cork.

"Aw, no!" Kaiba stated, coldly.

"Please, Seto, it's only for tonight." His sister begged. The dragon trainer shook his head, calmly.

Joey placed everything on the counter and looked at him.

"Come on, Kaiba, it's just one drink. She IS the one who should be celebrating."

"Don't make me do the puppy face, Seto." Phoebe prepared to beg more.

The other brunette sighed. "Fine, but if you have more than one glass-"

"Don't worry bro." His sister assured.

"Good," Joey poured some into two glasses and handed one to her. "Everyone else, there's soda and stuff in the fridge." The others went to the refrigerator to grab a soda. Tristan and Olivia took out Sprite, Mokuba and Shanice grabbed a Pepsi bottle, and Yugi chose a Root Beer. Mokuba handed a glass bottle of Coke to his brother.

"They still make these?" Seto asked, examining the object in his hand.

"Yeah, I made sure they would stock some. I thought rich folk drink classic-looking junk and alcohol." Joey sneered.

The brunette smirked and removed the cap.

"Hey, wait!" Yugi held up his hand.

"What's the matter, Yugi?" Joey asked, frustrated and dying to take a sip of his drink.

"We're missing someone." He said, referring to Mikey.

"Where is she?" Tristan asked.

"She's outside on the balcony." Phoebe said, pointing to the half open door.

"I'll-" Joey began, but Kaiba stood up.

"I'll get her." He glared at Joey, put his Coke bottle on the shelf, and walked out the back door.

"Hmph, well excuse me, hotshot." The brown-eyed teen grumbled.

* * *

Outside, Mikey sat on the chair and just got off her phone. "I wonder if he's okay." She sighed and jumped up when she heard a knock on the side of the door. The green-eyed teen turned to see who was there.

"Yo, come in here or we'll start without you." Seto told her, emotionless.

Mikey stood up and walked up to him. "Start what?"

"Celebrating, now let's go." The young CEO said, walking back into the room. Mikey followed.

"There she goes. There she goes again." Joey announced in a sing-song voice and a smile. Shanice elbowed him in the arm.

"We were afraid to start the toast without you," followed Tristan.

"Toast, where?" The dense blonde said, looking around.

"Not that toast, you idiot," Shanice huffed.

"Here you go, Mike." Yugi handed her a glass of Root Beer.

"Thanks Yuge." She winked at him. The spiky haired blonde blushed slightly.

"Gag," Seto whispered to his little brother, who laughed out loud. Phoebe nudged him in the shoulder. "What did I do?"

"Alright, kiddies, take your seats. I have toast to make. Now where's the bread." Joey said, jokingly.

"But Joey-" Olivia began on the bed near the balcony, but Shanice stopped her.

"He's only fooling around, Lovely."

"Heh, heh alright she got me." The blonde cleared his throat, "but really now." Yugi sat back on one of the beds as Mikey sat on the arm of the chair, next to Mokuba. "So I just want to take a moment and congratulate the beautiful Phoebe Kaiba on winning her first out of five contests this evening and hope she wins the rest." Joey recited, grinning. "Also, I'd like to wish all of the other coordinators luck." He looked at Kaiba. "Yes, even you, rich boy," he smiled.

The brunette smirked. "Gee, thanks, Wheeler."

"That's all I have to say, so to the coordinators!" He raised his glass. The others followed and drank their beverages. After Joey tasted his champagne, he held his left cheek in pain. The others looked at him.

"Are you okay, Joey?" Yugi asked, holding his arm.

"Yeah, there's nothing I like more than ice-cold booze rubbing against the inside of my stitched cheek." His best friend said with an exaggerated smile.

"I blame myself, Joey." Mikey said by his side.

"It's not your fault. I hated that asshole even before I met you. He's always picking fights with me and T whenever we see him." Joey took another sip of his drink and ignored the pain this time.

Yugi looked at her. "I should have called out Yami before he grabbed you." He dismally looked into her eyes.

"Yugi, you were just scared like the rest of us." Mikey said, not wanting to see her friend in guilt.

"Right, besides, I didn't need Yami. I could have easily kicked their asses by myself." Joey gloated.

"Sure, then why did I have to step in?" Kaiba asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No one asked you to play Scarface, rich boy."

"You never did tell us where you got that gun." Tristan mentioned.

"You don't need to know where I got it, Tristan." The brunette stood up and walked to the door. "I'm gonna go back to my room and do homework before I go to sleep.

"Wait for me." Olivia was right on his tail.

"Oh hell no, I ain't leaving you alone with him." Tristan asserted, following both of them.

Yugi, still depressed, sat back down on the bed.

"I better go too." Shanice said, looking at Joey. "Come on, you guys." She left the room with Mokuba.

"Hold on, Shay." Joey drank the last bit of his champagne and sighed. "Alright, I'm coming." The dirty blonde walked to the door, then looked at the remaining girls and Yugi. "You guys gonna be okay?" He asked, looking at Yugi.

"Don't worry about us, Joe." Phoebe said, sitting on the couch. Mikey sat down next to Yugi.

"Ok, goodnight guys." The worried blonde left, but immediately came back. "Are you sure?"

Phoebe got up. "Yeah, yeah, now go to your room." The blue-eye brunette dragged him out by the arm.

"But, Phoebe,"

"Hush!" The two teens went to another room.

Mikey looked at Yugi, who had his head down, rubbing his thumbs together. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"No," was all he said in a low voice.

Mikey frowned, rubbing his back. "If you're still upset about last night, don't worry about it." She smiled, trying to cheer him up. The spiky-headed teen sighed and stood up. "I mean, I'm fine." She reassured him. He closed his eyes and walked out of the room, passing Phoebe on the way.

"Did I miss something?" She asked Mikey, who shook her head.

* * *

Yugi stood in the halls, leaning against the wall. Yami looked at him breathing heavily.

"_Yugi, what's wrong?_" The spirit asked.

The other held his chest tightly. "I-I'm fine, just l-leave me alone." He anxiously said and walked off.

"That kid seriously has emotional problems." Seto said from the doorway.

"He just has a lot on his mind." Tristan told him. The other brunette scoffed and returned to the room.

Yami stared at them. "_Man, I hate you, Kaiba._" He then disappeared.

* * *

**~Day 6~**

The next morning, they were off to their next destination. By that afternoon, the friends were in Los Angeles, California. The nine Pokemon trainers decided to stop by PokéBeach [5] rather than unpack at the hotel. The beach was for Pokemon trainers and other subcategories of Pokemon owners.

"This is the life." A blissful Joey, wearing his green swimming trunks, said, lying back on a white beach chair under a red and white umbrella. Brutroot slept peacefully in the sand by his owner as Pidgey played with Swallow and Perap. Shanice, wearing a pure purple one-piece, walked up to him with a Margarita.

"Here you go, Joey."

The dirty blonde pulled down his sunglasses and smiled at her. "Thanks, Shay."

The dark skinned teen blushed, "no prob." Nina walked up to her with Cindy. "Hey, girls, what's up?" Olivia and Phoebe arrived with the pink-head holding a rainbow colored beach ball.

"How about we play a game of beach volleyball?" Phoebe asked. She was wearing a yellow two-piece bikini decorated with an electric design with red circles on each breast along with a thunderbolt shaped tail coming out of the backend. The straps of the top were black.

"What are you suppose to be, a Pikachu?" Shanice asked with an odd look.

Joey spat out some of his drink and looked at the two young adult women. "Hey, lovely ladies, how's it hanging?" He smiled with his sunglasses on his nose and right thumb up.

"He's such a flirt." Olivia said to Phoebe. She wore a hot pink two-piece to match her hair. The top was shaped like a heart, revealing more cleavage than her girlfriends would have liked.

"I guess my brother's on the right track when he calls him a dog." The brunette laughed. Soon, the other girls joined in the laughter.

"Very funny, girls," Joey said, blushing. The fire mouse and poison pin Pokemon looked at each other. Olivia's Phanpy rolled passed them. The two little Pokemon happily chased her.

"Good old Eli," The violet-eyed teen smiled.

"There are only three of us though." Shanice focused her attention back on the girls' volleyball game.

"I'll play with you girls." Tristan volunteered, placing both his hands on Olivia's shoulders from behind.

"Great, baby," she kissed his lips.

"Awesome, now we only need two more people to take the rear." Phoebe said. "Hey, Mokuba," she called her younger brother who, wearing his gray shorts and plain white t-shirt, was burying Bulbasaur under the sand leaving only his green bulb exposed.

"Yes, Phoebe?" he asked as the seed Pokemon shook off the sand and surfaced.

"Do you mind playing beach volleyball with us? Bulbasaur can play too."

The young boy smiled. "We'd love to. Come on, Bulbasaur." The grass/poison Pokemon nodded and the two ran to the girls and Tristan.

One team consisted of Phoebe and Shanice with Mokuba, while the other had Tristan and Olivia with Bulbasaur, vines extended from his bulb.

"Ready guys?" Olivia held up the ball. The others nodded. "Then let's go!" She threw the ball and the game began.

* * *

Near the coastline, Seto Kaiba was looking out to sea as his Dragonite skidded across with Vapor on his back. The orange dragon landed in front of his trainer and the purple water Pokemon jumped off.

"Did you two have fun?" The brunette asked. Kaiba donned a pair of white Capri pants and a long-sleeved white t-shirt that was long enough to cover his still scarred arm.

"_It was alright. The ocean water here doesn't feel as nice as Neo's._" Vapor said, smiling and wagging her tail.

"Right," Seto said back and looked out to see Yugi, who wore red swim shorts, surfing. "Whoa!" He exclaimed in astonishment at the young trainer, who was actually performing the sport very well.

"_I had no idea that boy knew how to surf._" Vapor said, sharing her trainer's brother's surprise. The surfer noticed the three watching him and smiled as he finished riding a wave.

"His mood changed dramatically since last night." The dragon trainer confided.

The blonde washed up on shore. "What up, dudes?" He asked, smirking.

"Since when do you surf?" The other trainer asked.

"Kaiba, I play a lot of sports." Yugi clarified, holding his red board that depicted a black outline of a behemoth Pokemon.

The taller boy smirked at him, "oh, really?"

Yugi stuck his tongue out. "Yeah," he laughed.

"So where's your girlfriend?" Seto asked, mood changing.

"My what?" Yugi asked, blushing.

"Mikey," the other replied.

"She's not my girlfriend, Kaiba."

"Could have fooled me," he said with his arms crossed.

Yugi cleared his throat. "I think she's still in the changing room."

"What the hell is taking her so long?" Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Phoebe," he called his younger sister.

Phoebe looked at him, "yes?" The beach ball hit her in the head.

"Sorry Phoebe," came Olivia's voice.

"Could you get the other brat from the dressing rooms, please?"

"Ok," the light blue-eyed brunette walked over to a small cottage-like building and entered. "Mikey," she called in a raised whisper. "Are you in here?"

The other brunette poked her head out from a door. "Psst, Phoebe," the called girl looked at her.

"What's taking you so long to come out?" Phoebe asked, beginning to open the door, but Mikey pushed it closed.

"I don't want anyone to see me." She told her friend, nervously.

Phoebe chuckled. "Oh come on, Mikey, you can't look that bad."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

The middle Kaiba sighed. "Just come on."

After a minute passed, Mikey finally opened the door. She had her hair up in pigtails and was wearing a red two-piece and sandals.

"Wow, Mike, you look hot." The blue-eyed girl charmed with a smile. Mikey groaned and shut the door again. "What'd I say?" She wondered, dumbfounded.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Yugi sat with Joey on his beach chair.

"So, how's your face, Joey?" The Cyndaquil trainer asked, rubbing the bandage on his best friend's cheek.

"It's alright. I've been through worse." The dirty blonde New Yorker smiled.

Mikey and Phoebe arrived. "We're here!" Phoebe announced with a cheery grin.

Joey, again, spat out his drink and shot up to them. "Damn, you girls don't quit. Do you?" He sneered at the two brunettes.

"Well," Phoebe began, but the excited blonde wrapped his arms around them both.

"Looks like my birthday came early this year." He pulled Phoebe closer. "Hey, where have you been all my life?" He then asked, swooned.

"Uh," Mikey started to say.

"In the Neo Region," added Phoebe.

"You both look great." Yugi mentioned, looking at Mikey.

"Eyes off, Yuge, they're mine." Joey flirted.

"Ah, ha, no," The blue-eyed teen under his arm gently pulled away.

He looked back at Mikey. "Well at least I still have you." Seto, Mokuba, and Olivia came back with ice cream.

"There you two are." Olivia handed vanilla ice cream cones to Yugi and Joey. "I got vanilla for you too, Mikey."

"Thanks, Lovely." She was handed the ice cream. Tristan and Shanice walked up from behind the other three.

"Hey," Joey noticed Kaiba had a triple scoop of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. "Why does rich boy get more than us?"

"I have a major sweet-tooth, Wheeler, hands off." The brunette pulled back his treat.

"Anyways, what do we do now?" Tristan asked.

"I'm ready to go to the hotel, but that's just me." Seto said, in between licks.

Mokuba looked up at him. "Can we stay a little longer, bro? I really want Yugi to teach me how to surf." The raven-haired boy patted Yugi on the back, who mantled in embarrassment.

"You saw that?"

"Yugi surfing?" Phoebe looked at him in awe. "Could you teach me too?"

"Well," the blonde's face became a darker pink, "sure, Phoebs."

"Awesome," the brunette smiled. "We should get boards."

"Good, then Mikey and I will watch." Joey said, sneering at the uncomfortable girl in his arm. Kaiba walked up behind him and pulled him off her.

"Let's go, mutt."

"Hey, what did I do moneybags?" Joey asked as he was being dragged back to the group.

"You need to be put on a leash." He smirked at the blonde.

"Why you-"

"No, Joe," Shanice held out her arm when her friend was back by her side.

"Hmph, anyway, you can stay with them, Mokuba." Kaiba stated with an aggravated expression on his face.

* * *

So, Mokuba, Yugi, and Phoebe surfed as the other trainers and their Pokemon watched. Seto sat by the far end of the beach, grooming his Dragonite.

"I'm going to use you for the contest." He told his dragon Pokemon. The orange dragon purred and rested his wings back. He then felt a tug on his leg. The brunette looked down to see Herben. "What is it?" He bent down to pick up the leaf Pokemon.

"_Whatcha doing?_" The grass Pokemon asked with a wide smile.

"I'm just taking care of Dragonite." Herben cuddled up against his right arm.

"_Are you still hurt?_" He softly licked the wrap around it.

"Yes, but it's getting better. There's a scar there from your trainer pulling the quills out." The Chikorita hopped to the ground. "Why the sudden interest in my arm?" Herben just giggled cutely.

"Herben, why are you bothering Kaiba?" Mikey asked.

"He wasn't bothering me." Herben jumped into his trainer's arms.

"_Chika,_" he rubbed his head against her chest.

"I knew I'd find you here," came a feminine voice from behind Dragonite. The two coordinators looked to see a girl with long, elegant, light blonde hair and purple eyes. She was wearing a matching purple tank top and shorts with flip flops, all under a light, pink jacket.

"Who are you?" Mikey asked.

"I'm Daphne Flurte." The other teen female replied with a sexy smile.

"Why are you here, Daphne?" Seto asked with a hint of anger and annoyance in his voice.

"Aww, Seto-poo, I thought you would be happy to see me."

Mikey looked at him, jaw dropped. "You might want to start explaining."

Kaiba looked back at her. "Well-"

"Seto and I go WAY back. We even use to date, actually."

"So, you're his ex?"

"That is none of your business." Kaiba retorted to Mikey. The others found their way to them.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Joey asked with Brutroot by his side and Pidgey on his shoulder.

"Well if it isn't the geek patrol." Daphne said, waving at them.

"Isn't that Daphne Flurte?" Tristan asked, Perap perched on his shoulder.

"Yes it is." Phoebe answered then looked at the blonde before her. "So what's an overly made-up hussy like you doing here?"

"Don't you ever get tired of insulting me?" Daphne asked, still devious.

"I ask Kaiba the same thing." Joey said.

"It never gets old." Both elder Kaibas said with a smirk.

"Any-who, what brings you here girl-I-think-is-hot-but-dated-Kaiba-so-now-she's-not?" The dirty blonde Turtwig trainer asked, taking a huge breath at the end. "Hey, that means you're open."

"I don't associate with losers like you, Joey Wheeler." Daphne flicked some of her blonde hair back.

"I think she digs me, Yuge." He whispered to Yugi, who sighed.

Kaiba growled. "Look, just leave us alone! You've done enough to harm me and my family."

"What did she do?" Mikey asked Mokuba, after backing away from a pissed off Seto.

"Daphne Flurte is a reporter in-training, just like her sister, Cindy Flurte. However, she is much worse because she thinks she can get stuff on us by using Seto physically and emotionally and saying she liked him and all that other garbage, while in reality, she is nothing more than a two-timing gold-digger." Mokuba explained, sharing his brother rage.

"Whoa!" Mikey and Shanice were blown away by the normally happy child's mood.

"Mokuba, remind me to never tell you a secret." Joey said.

Phoebe nodded. "Well, my little brother does have a point."

Daphne looked at Mikey. "You're still alive I see."

"Uh, well last time I checked, yes." The brunette frowned. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"It was you!" Yugi suddenly yelled. Everyone looked at him.

"What do you mean, Yugi?" Phoebe asked.

"Daphne, you have an Altaria, right?" The purple-eyed teen asked.

"Yes, why?"

"You were the witch who caused that sudden wind while we were at the Statue of Liberty. Weren't you?" Yugi pointed out.

"Uh, Yuge, I know you dislike her, but you shouldn't blame a freak accident on someone who wasn't even there." Shanice said, holding him by the shoulder.

"No, Cindy saw two very suspicious clouds. The color in between them wasn't matching the sky." Yugi tried to get the others to believe him.

"But, Yugi, why would she try to kill Mikey? She doesn't even know her." Mokuba asked, shocked at Yugi's accusations.

"That's true." Yugi continued, Yami suddenly appeared by his partner's side in spirit, "but she's obsessed with your brother, right?" They looked at Mokuba and Phoebe. The two Kaibas both nodded. "Well, maybe she's jealous. I mean her sister outed her as a Coppertino to the tabloids and Kaiba STILL doesn't despise her enough to have her killed."

"Why wouldn't I want her killed?" Kaiba turned to Yugi.

"Alright, alright, I did it." Daphne finally cut in, sick of their talking. The group gasped, except Yugi and Kaiba.

"Why would you try to have someone killed?" Olivia finally spoke.

"Man, I knew she was bad, but murder's pretty heavy. You and rich boy do go well together." Joey said. The three Kaibas glared at him. "What?"

"To answer your question, Olivia, I could not have her get too close to Seto." The possessive blonde told her.

"What does Mikey have to do with me?" Seto asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"I saw the little incident you two were in back in Las Vegas."

"What incident?" Yugi asked. Everyone then turned to Mikey.

"Why are you guys looking at me?" She asked, not wanting to make the situation worse.

"One of us will explain later." Seto made clear. Phoebe then stepped in front of her brother. "What are you doing, Phoebe?"

She pulled out a Pokeball. "Something I wanted to do for a long time." She told her brother, smirking.

"Hold on, shouldn't we call the cops or something for attempted murder?" Tristan questioned.

"We have no evidence besides her word to go on. Otherwise, this is way more fun." Phoebe implied.

"Oh my god," Joey ran to the center of the beach, "Pokemon cat fight!" The blonde announced.

Everyone that was there moved closer to the group.

"I accept your challenge, Ms. Kaiba." Daphne pulled out a Pokeball as well.

Kaiba moved back with the others.

"What kind of Pokemon does she have?" Shanice asked him.

"A powerful one," the brunette replied. He looked at his sister, who smiled back at him.

"I'll go first. Altaria, go!" The blonde tossed her ball and out emerged, in a flash of light blue, a large baby blue phoenix-like Pokemon with white cheeks. Its feathers were made up of cumulus clouds with two blue feathers extended from her head. The flying Pokemon had five tail feathers that shook upon her appearance.

"That's a beautiful Pokemon." Olivia gasped in astonishment. Joey and Brutroot returned to the group.

"Go, Glacier!" Phoebe's shiny ice Pokemon arrived with her usual sparkles.

"This ought to be an interesting battle." Tristan said.

"_Interesting, interesting, rawk,_" Perap squawked an echo.

"What do you mean, T?" Joey asked.

"Altaria is a dual dragon/flying type and both of its attributes are weak against ice." The brunette replied.

"Then Phoebe should win for sure." Mokuba said, elatedly.

"I don't know." Seto said, seriously.

"Altaria, Sing." The cloud Pokemon floated above Glacier and hummed a beautiful melody.

"Glacier, don't listen to that tune." Phoebe called to her Pokemon. The white fox covered her ears with her tuque. "Good, now use Ice Fang." Glacier uncovered her ears and leaped toward the humming Pokemon, teeth glowing with icy sparkles.

"Block her with Cotton Guard." Altaria's puffy wings fluffed up, covering her body and deflecting the Ice Fang.

Glacier landed safely back on the sand.

"Ice Shard!" Glacier raised her headgear and opened her mouth to release a barrage of clear ice shards.

"Dodge with Dragon Dance." Daphne commanded her Pokemon. The blue Pokemon's body glowed crimson red. This caused her to sporadically dodge the sickles.

"Man, Daphne's good." Mikey said, watching the battle intensely. Seto glared at her. "Well she is." The lighter brunette lowered her head.

"Finish this, girl, with Draco Meteor!" Altaria, still glowing, let out a melodic cry and soon the sky was dark.

"Oh man, is that what I think it is?" Joey, in a panic, hid behind Yugi. "Kaiba's Salamence used that same move on Drew and it didn't look pretty."

"And hiding behind ME is going to do what, exactly?" The shorter teen asked with a sweat drop.

"Glacier, ready?" Phoebe asked her companion, who nodded.

"_I know exactly what to do._" The meteors came closer to her. "_Phoebe!_"

"Right, reflect with Mirror Coat!" Glacier let out a cry, as her body was covered in a reflective substance, allowing the dragon move to reflect back to the user. Altaria was slammed with the recoiled attack.

"Awesome! That attack brutally weakened her." Shanice declared, happily.

"That maybe, but that move weakened Glacier also." Seto noted, seeing the ice type pant.

"She's gonna be okay, right?" Mikey asked, tightening her hold on Herben.

Seto shook his head. "I don't know."

"That's his answer to everything." Joey huffed.

"Hail, Glacier!" The fresh snow Pokemon howled to the sky. Light hail and snow began to fall. "Blizzard!" Upon her command, Glacier blasted a force of snow from her throat, aiming at Altaria.

"Agility," the dragon/flying Pokemon swiftly dodged the blizzard.

"I guess even with the hail, Altaria is able to dodge blizzard." Phoebe said, biting her lip.

"Don't count on it, sister." Daphne smirked.

"What do you mean?"

The blonde looked at her ex. "Seto, why don't you explain?"

"Well, let's see. If I remember correctly, Altaria has the ability Cloud Nine which is able to negate all weather effects. So even though it's hailing out, abilities like Ice Body and Blizzard having 100% accuracy have no effect." He explained, now worried. "Wait a minute…"

"Exactly, now Altaria, Perish Song! [6]"

"Not Perish Song!" Mikey gasped.

"W-What's that?" Mokuba asked.

"It's a powerful move that will cause both Pokemon to faint in three turns. It can be cured by switching out, but that wastes a move, giving the opponent the advantage of getting a move in."

"Oh-no, then Phoebe better think if she wants to win." Joey said, still behind Yugi.

The boy in front of him looked at his friend. "Well, Joey, Daphne would lose too. It all depends on who can defeat who with the right attacks in the next three turns."

"Oh!" Joey chuckled. "I knew that."

"Glacier, use another Ice Shard." The icy beast listened and discharged quills of ice from her fur and mouth.

"Glow, Altaria." The Pokemon nodded and her body was soon shrouded in red flame.

"Watch out, Phoebs! Altaria is going to use Sky Attack." Yugi warned.

The coordinator looked at him, then back at the battle. A 1 appeared over both Pokemon's heads.

"Iron Tail!" Glacier charged toward the dragon Pokemon with her glowing tail. "Attack!" The ice type jumped up and wacked Altaria with the steel type attack. The cloud-filled creature shook the move off.

"Unleash Sky Attack." Daphne finally instructed, raising her hand then dropping a point at the Glaceon.

The fiery phoenix scorched the eeveelution with the flying move, burning her [7]. A 2 then could be seen over both heads.

"Come on, Glacier, you can do it!" Phoebe encouraged her Pokemon, with worry.

"_I-I'll try…_" came a weak murmur from the shiny Pokemon.

"That's it!" The brunette pulled out a red and black baton. "Use Baton Pass!"

Glacier held onto the wand with her tail and glowed a bright red. The red ray of light went back into Glacier's Pokeball. Another ball was placed on the field and Ruby emerged with a bellow.

"Altaria, use Dragon Pulse." The humming bird opened her mouth and regurgitated a glowing blue orb that aimed straight at the dragon/dark Pokemon.

"No, isn't there a chance that she'll lose because of dragon moves super effectiveness against dragon Pokemon?" Tristan asked. Both Yugi and Kaiba shook their heads.

The dragon attack struck Ruby, recoiling her backwards a few steps.

Daphne was shocked. "What? How can your Pokemon not have a scratch?"

The remaining amount of smoke from the blast was swept away by Ruby's wings. The dragon Pokemon snickered at her stunned opponents.

"You see, when Altaria used Draco Meteor earlier, her special attack fell greatly. A special move, like Dragon Pulse, would be halved in power. Dragon Pulse has a power of 90, which in turn was decreased to 45 only dealing a minimal of damage." Yugi said.

"She could have, however, used a physical dragon type move like Dragon Rush or Outrage. That would have done more damage because of the fact they ARE stronger than Dragon Pulse, are not affected by Draco Meteor, and she'd get a STAB bonus." Kaiba added.

"Man, Pokemon sure is like math." Joey said, rubbing his cranium.

"Guess that's why you suck at it." Shanice commented, smirking. The dirty blonde glared at her.

The counter over Altaria's head reached 0. A surge of red and black energy coursed through her body, knocking her unconscious. Phoebe wins due to Perish Song.

* * *

After returning Altaria to her Pokeball, her trainer left the gang without saying a word.

"You know, I kinda feel bad for her." Olivia said, looking at her boyfriend.

"Why?" Tristan asked.

"I don't know. Maybe she really likes Kaiba." The hot pink haired teen said.

Kaiba scoffed. "Yeah right," Dragonite looked at him and smiled. "Come on; let's get back to the hotel." The other teens nodded and went with him.

Mikey stayed behind, looking at the direction Daphne went with a gloomy look.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked, gently holding her arm.

"Yeah, come on." She smiled. The two went to catch up with their friends.

* * *

**~Day 7~**

The next day, the trainers planned on going to an aquarium to see some water Pokemon. Yugi was in the bathroom, fixing his hair.

"Uh, Yugi, I doubt that hair needs anymore gel." Mokuba said, coming into the room.

"I know, but it just helps it look better."

"Alright, boys," Phoebe joined them, "time to go."

The teens drove in either Joey's Sedan that was delivered from Vegas or in Phoebe's purple Chevrolet convertible. They parked outside of the Aquarium of the Pacific. Joey, Tristan, Olivia, Yugi, and Mikey got out of the Sedan; and the three Kaibas and Shanice exited the Chevrolet.

Inside, the group enjoyed seeing all the different types of water Pokemon. Joey was looking at a tank full of round tadpoles with swirls on their tummy.

"Aww, what cute little Poliwag," he smiled at them. One of the tadpoles wagged its transparent tail, sticking its tiny tongue out if its pink mouth. "Hey, are you making fun of me?" The dirty blonde felt insulted.

"Easy buddy, it's just a Poliwag." Tristan said, appearing from behind his best friend.

"Alright, two can play at this game." Joey pressed his face up against the glass to try and intimidate Poliwag. The funny face only made it laugh.

A giant blue sea snake swam close to the glass the two younger Kaibas looked at.

"Gyarados!" a scared Mokuba held onto his sister.

"It's okay Mokie. It won't hurt you."

Yugi and the remaining girls looked at a tank of hippo-like pink Pokemon.

"Hey, Shanice, those Slowpoke look just like you." Olivia teased.

"Very funny," the dark skinned girl huffed.

Yugi turned to a tank of heart-shaped Pokemon. "Hey Lovely, this one has Luvdisc."

The pink haired teen instantly fell in love with them. "They're so cute!"

Mikey walked over to Kaiba, who looked at the many seahorse Pokemon in the tank.

"Are you ready for your contest?" She asked.

The other brunette continued to watch few of the baby seahorses in the tank play.

"Of course I'm ready."

Mikey sighed. "I wonder who you'll face."

A girl with long, dark pink hair and blue eyes walked up next to Kaiba. The two brunettes looked at her.

"Horsea sure are lovely water types. Aren't they?" She asked.

"Yes," Kaiba said.

The new girl looked at him. "I'm Solidad." She introduced with a smile.

Kaiba looked at her with a hint of surprise. "You mean 'Solidad', as in Solidad the Kanto Contest Champion?"

The other coordinator nodded. "Yes, it's been awhile, Seto Kaiba."

"Don't tell me she's your ex too?" Mikey asked.

Solidad laughed. "No, I met him once when he traveled to my hometown of Pewter City. We watch each others' contests." She then smirked. "Are you Mikey Coppertino?"

"Yes I am."

"You defeated my friend Drew in the Las Vegas contest. That was pretty impressive." Solidad acknowledged.

Mikey blushed slightly. "Thanks."

"Whoa!" Joey and the others joined them. "Who's this beautiful woman?"

"Solidad," the Kanto champ smiled. "Who are you?"

"Joey Wheeler," the blonde winked.

Solidad giggled. "I assume you're entering the contest here?" She asked Kaiba, who nodded. "Then I guess we might face each other, because so am I."

"Perfect," Seto said, smiling.

Solidad took a deep breath and quickly kissed him on the cheek. "See you around, hot stuff."She giggled and walked off. Everyone looked at her odd.

"Did I miss something?" Joey asked. "Why do all the hot girls go for Kaiba?" He suddenly jumped in front of him and held him by the arms. "You gotta tell me your secret."

Kaiba sighed.

* * *

Later that night, at the Magic Castle Hotel, Yugi and Mikey were stretched out on the bed doing their Physics homework. Joey slept soundly on the couch with Brutroot on his stomach.

"Ok, what is Newton's First Law of Motion?" Mikey asked with her textbook laid out on the edge of the bed. She swayed her right foot back and forth.

Yugi looked at a section of the book. "The first law states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion, unless acted upon by a another type of force." He blinked. "Oh, and they stay in the same direction and speed level."

"Wow! My brain hurts." The other student groaned, writing down what her friend said in her book. "Wait, I thought that was the second law?"

"No, the second law deals with the acceleration of an object being proportional to the magnitude of the net force causing movement, while being inversely proportional to its mass." Yugi thought for a second. "Yeah, that sounds right."

"That means what exactly?" The brunette asked, perplexed.

"Just remember the formula Fnet = ma, which means net force equals mass times acceleration.

Mikey continued to write, until her pen ran out of ink. She moved her hand to pick up an extra pen that was next to her. Yugi, however, wanted one to complete another problem. His warm hand rested on top of hers. All of a sudden, they looked at each other, bashfully.

"I-I'm sorry. You can use it if you want." Yugi offered, his cheeks a rosy pink. He moved his palm away from her.

Mikey picked up the writing utensil. "It's alright, you can use it." She held it out to him, tenderly.

The purple-eyed boy smiled and slowly took it from her. "Thanks, Mikey."

The other adolescent shook her head. "No, thank you for the help." She beamed.

Yugi put his pen in between the pages of the book and closed it. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure you can." Mikey closed her book too and sat up. "What's up?"

"What exactly happened between you and Kaiba that Daphne was talking about?" He asked with a serious look.

"Um, well," the shy brunette looked down. "Nothing like you're thinking," she said softly.

Yugi sighed and got up from the bed. "I'll be right back." He said with a little hurt in his voice. He dejectedly walked into the bathroom.

Mikey roughly lied back down and buried her face in the sheets. 'Good job, Mikey. You're a way with words.' She thought.

* * *

After that, both trainers were asleep in their beds. Yugi slumbered, but Mikey was restless. She had so many thoughts rushing through her head. Herben was cuddling close to her. The brunette laid with her back to the other, not wanting to look at him after making him feel horrible earlier.

Yami sat on the bed, next to Yugi. '_She seems to have a lot on her mind._' The spirit thought to himself.

A lucid pink dragon hovered above him. "_Her heart is full of emotion._" The dragon said in a familiar voice.

"_Yes, but she'll be fine._" The magenta-eyed apparition said. He looked up at the other spirit's green eyes.

"_I'm a love demon, Yami, not stupid._"

The spirit of the pyramid-shaped puzzle laughed. "_What's love got to do with it?_"

They both laughed.

Mikey sat up, forcing the spirits to vanish.

"Must be my imagination," she shrugged it off and went back to sleep, not knowing that the two eidolons were watching over her.

* * *

**To be continued...**

[5] PokeBeach is dedicated to the website.

[6] Perish Song use to not be affected by Baton Pass in the games. It now has changed, because Baton Pass is technically a switch because it takes up a turn, thus negating Perish Song's effect.

[7] Sky Attack, because it's battle animation is of a fiery phoenix, now has a 50% of burning the opponent.


	12. Thanks For The Amnesia!

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. This chapter puts the "fiction" in fanfiction. Enjoy! Please R&R (Read and Review).

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon/spirit cries/speech

'normal': thinking

'_italic_': Pokemon/spirit thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**Thanks For The Amnesia!  
**

* * *

**~Day 8~**

The next night, the group of travelers decided to get some dinner at a fancy restaurant called Palm West Hollywood. The tables were separated by walls, making it so that each set of guests had their privacy.

Yugi and his pals sat at a table of six, while the three Kaiba siblings stationed at a table to the back of the room.

"This is a really nice place." Shanice said, eyeing the décor around them.

"You know what would be even nicer?" Joey asked. "Our waitress hurrying up with our food, I'm starving." The blonde's stomach growled.

"Do you ever not complain about your stomach, Joey?" Mikey asked with her arm on the table top, leaning against it.

"No," he looked to the right of him. "I also complain about rich boy thinking he is better than us and sitting far away."

"Dude, we wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for him." Tristan added.

A waitress then walked up to them holding a large tray of six dishes.

"Here you go." She gently placed the plates in front of each teen with their respective orders.

Mikey got a Chicken Parmigiana with Root Beer, Joey received a Jumbo Cold Water Nova Scotia Lobster Tail with Tequila, Yugi was given a Bozzi "Prime" Steak Burger with a side of fries and Root Beer, Tristan ordered a Prime New York Strip 1400 with fries and a Coke, Olivia got the Chicken Piccata with Iced Tea, and finally Shanice ate Three Cheese Potato AuGratin with a Caesar Salad and water.

* * *

"I don't even know why we bothered inviting those fools." Seto gruffly said before taking a bite of his 14 ounce Fillet Mignon.

"It was your idea to come along, Seto. You could have went your separate way, but-" Phoebe began to comment, but shook it off, "never mind." She went back to eating her Jumbo Lump Crab Cake.

Mokuba slowly ate his French fries that were with his Veal Marsala.

"You shouldn't even be hanging out with them anyway." The older brunette said still with a pissed tone.

Phoebe took a sip of her soda. "They're my friends, Seto."

"Hmph!" Seto drank some of his red wine then blocked out his surroundings. His sister frowned and sighed.

"Maybe he's just nervous about his contest." The black haired child said, before taking a huge bite of his veal.

"Eww, Mokuba," Phoebe cringed at her brother's sudden, sloppy appetite.

"What?" He asked with his mouth full. His sister shook her head, still disgusted. Mokuba drank some of his Pepsi.

Phoebe sighed again and looked to the corner of her eyes at her other brother. 'I sure hope you're okay, Seto.' She thought.

* * *

Outside the restaurant, most of the gang's Pokemon were spending time with each other.

"_This is a pretty sweet vacation, eh guys?_" Brutroot asked with a sleeping Pidgey on his shell.

"_I don't know. We barely get any action. It's always the ones involved with contests._" Nina sighed.

"_Don't worry, Nina, I'm sure this is a great time for us to have some action. C'mon, let's play a game._" Eli, Nina's best friend the Phanpy, said patting the Nidoran's quill-filled back with her trunk.

"_I think that's a great idea._" Vapor said, lying in front of Ruby.

"_Let's play tag._" Glacier voted, sitting next to her purple sister.

Cindy's back lit up. "_I can be our guide with my light._" The Cyndaquil giggled.

"_I'm in. I'm in._" Perap chirped.

Nina and Eli nodded.

"_Guess I have nothing better to do._" Blue finally said arms crossed.

Ruby nodded in agreement, and then chuckled, "_like trainer, like Pokemon._"

They all laughed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Herben was peeking out from behind the building. He looked at Wurmple, behind him.

"_Ok, pal, I have to introduce you to the rest of the gang._"

The red worm-like Pokemon nodded his head.

"_Now I know some of them seem scary, but they're all really nice._" Herben tried to take the bug/poison type's worries away. "_Let's go!_" The grass and bug Pokemon joined the group.

* * *

"_Hey look, it's Herben. Where have you been?_" Glacier asked, trotting to his side.

"_Look, he has a Wurmple with him._" Vapor added. All the others, aside from Blue, gathered around them.

"_Where'd he come from?_" Nina asked.

"_What's wrong with his eyes?_" Mokuba's Bulbasaur asked in a soft voice.

The red Pokemon became more afraid and his pins became sharper.

"_Careful, everyone, if you don't want to be poisoned, I advise you all to move._" Blue said, rushing over to them.

"_Oh Blue, I'm sure he's harmless._" Ruby said.

"_Well he's not._"

The group of Pokemon looked at her and backed away. Wurmple's spines decreased in size.

"_Everyone, this is Mikey's new Pokemon._" The leaf Pokemon smiled.

"_Hi, Wurmple,_" everyone greeted waving their paws, claws, wings, etc. Wurmple waved back with his stubby hands.

"_Herben, when did you meet this little guy and what IS wrong with his eyes?_" Cindy asked, stepping closer.

"_Mikey and Kaiba were in a small grove that inhabited bug and poison types. He was the leader of the group that attacked us, so Mikey caught him. He's blind too._" Herben explained.

"_Aww,_" the female Pokemon, besides Blue, sympathized.

"_Wait, when was Mikey with Kaiba?_" Brutroot asked. "_I thought he hated her._"

"_That's my fault._" Blue chimed in. "_You see, I only wanted to play with our little grass friend here._" She looked at Herben, who blushed slightly. "_We only wanted to play Hide-and-Seek and he went into the forbidden area. That's when the critters attacked. Herben was really good and even got the silk off my mouth with his leaf._" The white dragon smiled, wagging her tail.

"_Aww,_" the others squealed.

"_Herben has a crush on Blue. That's so cute!_" Eli giggled, tooting her trunk.

"_Say what?_" Blue gasped toward the aforementioned grass type.

"_I do not!_" The Chikorita blushed again.

"_You know, they say that if Pokemon fall in love, that means their trainers-_" Vapor began to say but Blue cut her off.

"_Don't! I really don't want to hear that._" The Bludragon roared.

"_Yeah, I mean c'mon, sis, a demon and an angel have more of a chance being together than those two._" Glacier implied.

"_Ahem, anyways, did I mention Seto got poisoned by that Wurmple?_" Blue said, trying to change the conversation.

"_Seto was poisoned?_" Vapor, Glacier, and Ruby gasped.

"_Guess not._" Blue sighed.

"_Now that you DID mention it, I did see a bandage around his arm this morning._" Bulbasaur said.

"_We were going to be told this when?_" Cindy wondered, confused.

"_I'm sure your little Yugi would love that news._" Blue rolled her eyes.

"_Yugi does not hate him!_" The fire mouse's back ignited. "_He's the one that hates Yugi!"_

The white dragon growled at her enemy.

"_Oh man, not now,_" The Turtwig sighed with his head lowered.

Herben stepped in the middle of the feuding Pokemon. "_Calm down, you two, please._"

The two monsters turned away.

"_There would have been a major war if none of us stepped in._" Perap squawked.

* * *

Soon the trainers were dismissed from their dinner and rejoined their Pokemon partners. Mikey quickly called Wurmple to his Pokeball to prevent her friends from seeing. They returned the rest to their balls and drove back to their hotel.

* * *

**~Day 9~**

Early the next morning, Seto headed for the nearby Pokecenter of Los Angeles to check on Dragonite.

Nurse Joy behind the counter handed him the ball. "Here's your Dragonite, Mr. Kaiba."

"Thank you, Joy." The coordinator held the small house in his hand and smiled. "I hope you're ready for the contest this afternoon." He told his dragon Pokemon through the ball.

"Hey, beautiful," the brunette turned to see Solidad standing a few feet behind him.

"Oh, hi Solidad, what brings you here?"

"I saw you taking a walk here and I thought I'd tag along." The female coordinator smirked.

"So, you were following me?"

Solidad shook her head and walked up to the counter. "I'm here to pick up my Slowbro."

"I see. You're going to use him?" Seto asked, carefully placing the ball on his belt.

"Of course," she smiled. "So, what are you and your friends doing this fine morning?"

"We're going to Disneyland and spending the entire morning there." Seto replied.

"That sounds nice. Slowbro and I are going to practice most of the morning." Solidad grinned, placing the Pokeball in her brown bag.

"I'm going to train as well. I just thought it would be nice to allow my group to have a little fun." Seto told her as he exited the center with Solidad behind him.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later." The pink haired trainer smiled again and walked off.

The brunette sighed, "Girls."

* * *

Later that morning, at 10 o'clock, the crew drove to Disneyland in Anaheim, California in the same vehicles they used when driving to the aquarium. They halted at the front gate.

"Disneyland!" Mokuba elatedly ran out of Phoebe's car.

"Mokuba, hold on!" Phoebe called and followed him.

Everyone else followed.

* * *

After getting past the front, the Pokemon lovers scattered to some attractions.

The younger Kaibas stood at the entrance to **It's a Small World**.

"Phoebe, we should go on this one." Mokuba pointed at the ride.

"Yeah, everything is small like you." The brunette playfully messed up his coal black hair.

"I'm not THAT short." The little boy clarified, flustered.

The two then decided to go on the ride with Vapor and Bulbasaur with them.

* * *

Tristan and Olivia decided to go on **Dumbo the Flying Elephant**, which was basically a carousel of the flying pachyderm. Olivia wanted to ride it because of her love for elephants.

"Wee! This is so much fun, Tristan!" The fuchsia-clad teenager squealed in glee as the Dumbo she was in went up and down at moderate speed. The one her boyfriend was in hovered beside her.

"Yeah, but would it hurt them to make it go faster?"

Perap flew around the ride with Eli clutched under his talons. The Phanpy's floppy ears fluttered in the breeze.

* * *

Joey and Shanice rode on the **Big Thunder Mountain Railroad** coaster. Their tiny Turtwig and Nidoran Female clutched tightly on their necks, trying not to fall off.

* * *

At the **Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes**, Yugi and Mikey with their Pokemon rested on a small, floating boat along a lake.

"This is nice." Mikey sighed, leaning her head back and dipping some of her brown hair in the water.

Yugi looked at her, smiling,

Cindy and Herben looked at each other as they gently leaned over the boat.

"Mikey, can I ask you a question?" The amethyst-eyed teen asked with a pensive look.

The brunette before him lifted her head up and shook off some of the water out of her hair. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Well, you and Kaiba said one of you would tell us what happened in Vegas that pissed Daphne off so much."

Mikey grimaced, "and you want to know what happened?"

"_Cynda!_" "_Chika!_" The Pokemon in the boat squeaked at the sight of the ride's end. They jumped up and down, rocking the small canoe.

"Herben, wait, calm down." Mikey quickly leaned over to grab her Pokemon, tipping the ride over.

Yugi and Mikey immediately emerged and both grabbed the bottom of the capsized boat.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked, holding his friend up by her waist.

"Yes," Mikey was still gasping for air when she noticed Herben wasn't with her. "Where's Herben?"

On cue, the leaf Pokemon cried from on top of Yugi's hair.

"What are you doing up there?" He asked.

Herben and Cindy were both sitting close together in between the teen's blonde bangs and large black back of his hair. Cindy jumped onto the boat, as Herben did the same onto his owner's head.

"You must have a strong neck to be able to support both of them." Mikey chuckled.

Yugi laughed nervously in reply.

* * *

The two trainers departed from the lake, putting the canoe back right-side-up.

"Anyways," Yugi continued to edge his friend on about the previous topic.

"Um…" Mikey thought of what to say, but was interrupted by Joey.

"Hey guys, what's up?" The dirty blonde patted both of his friends' shoulder from behind.

"Not much, where's everyone else?" Mikey asked.

"Well," the Brooklyn-accented teen began.

* * *

Tristan and Olivia were at the **Shootin' Arcade**. Mokuba, Phoebe, and their Pokemon were at the **Haunted Mansion**. The hauntings spooked Mokuba and his Pokemon, but Phoebe and Vapor stood by them. Shanice, Nina, Eli, and Perap were laughing and having a good time with the characters of **Mickey Mouse Clubhouse**.

* * *

"They're having their own fun." Joey finally said with a solemn laugh. "What happened to you guys?" He then asked, noticing their wet clothes.

"Oh, nothing, we just fell off of the ride we were on, but we're a-Ok." Mikey smirked at him.

Yugi laughed.

"Nyeh, Ok," Joey looked over in the distance. "Hey, what's that?" The blonde ran over to a small petting zoo type ranch with several brown, dual-headed ostrich Pokemon. Some had brown necks and some had black, depending on if they were male (black) or female (brown).

* * *

Meanwhile, still inside the park but away from the others, Kaiba stood by himself as Dragonite descended to his side in flames, which burnt out on contact with the ground.

"Maybe we should try a different routine."

"_I like using Outrage that way though._" The plump, orange dragon said with a pout.

"I know, but who knows what the judges will think." Kaiba sat on a nearby bench.

"Hey, Kaiba," Yugi greeted as he walked up to him.

"What do you want? I thought you were with the others."

The tri-colored haired teen grinned. "I was, but I wanted to talk to you."

The brunette rolled his eyes and looked at him. "What happened to you?"

"Mikey and I fell off the canoe ride, no biggie." Yugi shrugged.

"Heh, are you sure it wasn't the Tunnel of Love?" Kaiba taunted.

"No!"

Kaiba grinned, "oh really?"

"Stop it, Kaiba! Look, I just want to know what you and Mikey did that peeved your ex off so much to the point of wanting her killed." Yugi wondered, now glaring at the trainer before him.

Kaiba scoffed and stood up from the bench. "Listen, I don't have time to deal with you. I have more important things to take care of." He slowly walked to the front gate with Dragonite as Yugi followed. The now badgered CEO turned to look at Yugi. "You know, you're starting to piss me off with this whole thing."

Yugi laughed. "Really? I didn't notice."

"Piss off, runt!" Kaiba snarled.

Yugi, hurt, nudged the dragon trainer.

The other quickly shook it off. "You did NOT just push me!" He growled.

"Well stop insulting me and-" Yugi was cut off by a blow to the face. The blonde was sent aback, but instantly composed himself. "You wanna play rough outside of Disneyland?" Yugi asked, spitting out blood.

"I thought you hated violence?" Kaiba asked, not pleased with the other's supposed stupidity.

They spiky-headed boy then tackled his rival against the inner wall of the park's gate. The two teens pushed against one another.

Yugi was pushing Kaiba at his chest, as the other did the same to Yugi's shoulders.

"Lay off, Kaiba!" Yugi yelled.

"Why do you have to be up her ass all the time?" Kaiba asked.

"'Cause I promised her I'd protect her from you!" Yugi retaliated.

"Hey, what the hell is going on here?" cried a female voice. The two teens stopped fighting and looked to see Phoebe scowling at them with a frightened Mokuba by her side. Vapor and Bulbasaur were also with the duo. "Ok, one of you BETTER explain what happened because there is absolutely zero reason for a fist fight between you two."

"He started it!" They said, death glaring at the other accused.

"What are you, 5? I expected this type of thing from Joey, but YOU Yugi?" The angry brunette female was very disappointed.

"Your brother's being an asshole." Yugi said, pulling Kaiba's arms off his shoulders, gripping his injured left arm in the process.

Kaiba pulled away, screaming while holding his arm. "Why the fuck is this pain getting worse?" he yelled through grit teeth.

"Seto, what happened?" Phoebe asked her brother, concerned.

"Kaiba?" Yugi blinked in confusion.

The brunette recovered from the rush of pain he felt through the left side of his body.

"I'm fine. As for you, Yugi," he pulled out an ancient, silver-blue ball with a black switch on the top. "Let's settle this like real Pokemon trainers."

"Bro, don't!" Phoebe gasped.

The Millennium Puzzle around Yugi's neck glowed and Yami appeared with a wide smirk. "What are you implying?" He asked, holding a similar ball only bronze-red.

"You guys, it's too dangerous to use those Pokemon here." Phoebe pleaded.

"Stop!" Mokuba admonished. "This fighting is pointless. We were supposed to be having fun." The young boy lowered his head with tears in his eyes.

Seto looked at his brother, with a guilty look. "Mokuba…"

* * *

Screams were then heard from deeper inside the park. The quartet joined together and wondered what was going on. Guests of the park were dispersing in a panic, followed by several of the brown ostrich Pokemon from before.

"Someone let the Doduo loose!" Yami clarified.

"Normally, DODRIO go nuts for no reason. Something must have set them off." Phoebe wondered.

Joey and Shanice came up to the group.

"What happened?" The Kaiba sister asked.

The two were out of breath along with their Pokemon. Joey held a light green, almost chartreuse radish Pokemon.

"Joey, where did you get an Oddish?" Mokuba asked.

"A rare one at that," his older brother added, raising an eyebrow.

"No time for that, this nimrod used Teeter Dance and now all of the Doduo are confused." Shanice said, giving Joey a dirty look.

"Why the hell would you try confusing them?" Phoebe asked, flabbergasted.

"I was only trying to weaken one of them without any combat moves." Joey answered.

"Why? You know those Pokemon are not for personal gain." Yami added.

"But, Yuge, one of them was shiny."

"Well that explains it." Phoebe said, sarcastically.

"Kaiba, you and Phoebe have to get everyone out of the park. Joey and I will take care of these bird-brains." The star-haired teen suggested.

"Right, come on, Seto." Phoebe and her brother went back into the park with their Pokemon.

"Mokuba and Shanice, stay here." Yami said before returning with Joey. They met up with Tristan.

"T, where have you been?" Joey asked.

"I got separated from Lovely after this chaos broke out." The brunette stated.

"Oddish, Sleep Powder!" Joey tossed his grass/poison Pokemon in the air and it spun around, releasing blue sparkles from its leaves that soon surrounded the raging flying types. They all fell asleep. "Oh yeah!" Joey celebrated after catching his Pokemon in his arms, but it was short-lived when several of them woke up. "Say what?"

"Some Doduo have the Early Bird ability." Yami told him.

"Now he tells me." Joey sighed. Oddish suddenly leaped out of its trainers arms and ran away. "Hey, wait up!" He chased after his shiny Pokemon.

"Yugi, look!" Tristan pointed out Olivia and Eli.

"You have to save her."

"Why me?"

Yami growled. "Don't be difficult, just go!" He pushed his friend.

A male Doduo ran into her, knocking her over. Eli ran to her side.

"Lovely!" her boyfriend hurried to her. "Perap, Aerial Ace!" the Chatot on his shoulder flew off and flew into the other normal/flying Pokemon with great force, knocking it out.

Olivia looked up at him.

"Are you okay?" He sat her up.

"I'm fine, T. There's no need to panic."

Tristan sighed in relief.

The other twin-headed Pokemon surrounded Yami. "Why are you guys looking at me like that? He did it." The spirit pointed to Tristan. The Pokemon gave him an evil look.

"Yugi's in trouble!" Olivia cried out.

"Perap, Aerial Ace! Eli, Rollout!" The Phanpy and Chatot quickly attacked, but three Doduo swiftly struck them multiple times with a Fury Attack.

Another one used the same move on Yami, while he was distracted, causing him to fall to his knees. The Doduo's mouths filled with tri-colored energy.

"They're gonna use Tri-Attack!" Tristan clenched his fist. Perap and Eli struggled to their feet. Silk and vines wrapped around the birds' beaks.

Yami looked up and saw Mikey with her two Pokemon. "Mikey…" the spirit of the puzzle then passed out from the pain in his back.

The many Doduo used their strength to pull Wurmple and Herben away, tossing them to the side and negating their Vine Whip and String Shot combo. Cindy tried to use her Flame Wheel, but her back refused to ignite. A single female Doduo kicked the small fire Pokemon away with her skinny leg.

The park was then filled with a soothing melody. Mikey and Olivia turned to Tristan who was playing a vase-shaped, yellow flute. All of the rampaging Doduo calmed and sat down where they stood.

Mikey hurried to Yami's side, as his eyes slowly fluttered open. "W-What happened?" He softly asked.

"You're okay!" She hugged him.

The magenta-eyed teen blinked and looked around. "Was I not okay?"

Tristan and Olivia walked to their side followed by Joey, Shanice, and Mokuba.

"I used this nifty Yellow Flute I acquired to cure these pheasants of their confusion." Tristan said, smiling.

Mikey and Yami stood up as Kaiba and Phoebe returned.

"What'd we miss?" Kaiba asked with Dragonite still by his side.

"A lot, apparently, because the Doduo have calmed down." Phoebe said, Vapor by her side.

A man walked up to the Pokemon trainers, as Herben, Cindy, and Wurmple jumped into their respective trainer's arms.

"You," he pointed angrily at Joey.

"Me?" the blonde echoed.

"You're the brat that scared the Doduo!" He yelled. A green Doduo with brown necks slowly walked up to him.

"Uh," Joey rubbed the back of his neck. "There's a, uh, logical explanation for all this and-"

"Who are you?" Shanice asked, trying to prevent Joey from saying something that would make things worse.

"I run this park and care for all these Pokemon." The man replied.

"Joey didn't mean any harm, sir." Yami defended. "You see, he really admired your shiny-"

"I don't care what happened! He had no right putting the guests of this park in danger!" The man yelled.

The group cringed and Joey hid behind Yami.

One of the male Doduo looked at Tristan and squawked.

"_Doduo like you, rawk!_" Perap chirped on his trainer's shoulder.

The man looked at his Doduo.

"Tristan was the one who quelled the Pokemon." Mikey said, cheerfully.

"Is that so? Well, young man, would you like to take that Doduo home with you as a token of my thanks? That one always wants to battle, yet I don't allow that in my park so-"

"One condition," everyone looked at the pointy, brown haired teen. "Joey gets to visit every once in awhile to see your shiny Doduo."

The owner glared at a smiling Joey then sighed. "Sure, but only if he promises not to try an act like this again."

"You have my word, sir." Joey said.

The shiny Doduo looked surprised.

* * *

The teens were then ready to leave.

"Well that was a fun morning." Mokuba said.

Tristan held a Pokeball in his hand. "You said it. Are you okay, Love?" He asked Olivia.

"T, I've gotten knock down harder than that before." His girlfriend assured him that she was okay.

Kaiba scoffed. "Alright, now that that's over, time for my contest."

Yami looked at him. "I don't think you should go out there."

"Why not?"

"Mikey told us that her Wurmple poisoned you. You know how a Pokemon's poison can affect humans." Yami said.

"What I don't understand is why would you protect her from an attack? I thought you hated her to death." Joey asked.

"Hmph, I do. I just want to be the one to cause her pain and I will in due time." Kaiba said, standing by Phoebe's car.

"Which is why I'M here," Yami then said, standing in front of him.

"Hah!" Kaiba sneered.

"Please, don't argue." Phoebe walked in between them and got to her car door.

The two grunted and went to their respective vehicles they arrived in.

* * *

While driving, Phoebe kept looking from the road to her brother in the passenger seat.

"Yugi's right you know." She finally said to him. "You should at least get checked out."

Seto shook his head. "I don't have time for that. Besides, I have it under control."

In the backseat, Mokuba and Shanice looked on, worried.

* * *

Soon, they all arrived at the contest building, which wasn't too far from Hollywood.

The inside of the building was decorated with bright lights, as well as the wall was donned with flowers. The gang entered the waiting room where all of the other coordinators were practicing before the start of the contest.

"Is it me, or do these places keep getting bigger and bigger?" Tristan marveled at the sight of all the different types of Pokemon and size of the room.

Kaiba sat in an empty chair. Mikey and Phoebe sat in the two chairs on either side of him.

"Oh look, Joey's doing what he does best." Shanice sighed, pointing out the food-loving blonde and his three Pokemon by the food court.

"Oh-ho yeah, these are going straight to my stomach." Joey said, picking up two glazed donuts.

"Joey, why must you insist on pigging out when we get to a contest?" Yami asked.

"C'mon Yuge, I LOVE the food in these joints." The blonde and his Pokemon downed the sweets.

Shanice sighed. "It's hopeless."

Phoebe noticed her brother's eyes searching. "What's up, bro?"

Kaiba looked at his sister. "Solidad's not here."

"I'm sure she'll be here soon." Phoebe smiled.

Mikey looked outside and saw a coordinator with a plump, bipedal, pink hippo Pokemon with a huge spiral shell clamped onto its tail. "Doesn't she have a Slowbro?" She asked.

"Yeah," Kaiba replied.

"I think she's outside."

As if she was listening, Solidad and her Slowbro entered the room.

"It's nice of you to show up, Kaiba." She said sweetly, standing in front of him.

"Why are you late?" He asked, standing up.

"I wasn't. I was just doing some last minute practice." Solidad said, and then looked at Phoebe and Mikey. "You two are also tagging along on this little quest, right?"

"You know it. I'm already four ribbons away from becoming the grand champ." Phoebe gloated.

"Wow, well you first have to get through me when you eventually get to the Grand Festival." Solidad winked.

"Heh, we'll see about that." Kaiba said, walking out of the room.

Solidad looked at Mikey. "You know, you're a pretty cool coordinator yourself, kid."

"Thanks." The brunette smiled with a blush.

Yami walked up behind her chair.

"You must be Yugi Moto?" Solidad held out her hand.

"A pleasure," Yami shook it.

"Hope you and your friends enjoy the show." Solidad grinned before she and the other coordinators left.

* * *

"Welcome, fellow coordinators and non-coordinators, to the Los Angeles Pokemon Contest!" A woman with long, straight, orange hair wearing a green dress greeted the crowd. "My name is Hillary and I'll be your MC this afternoon.

Hillary was one of the sisters of Vivian and Lillian, past MCs of Pokemon contests. She introduced the usual judges. The Nurse Joy wore a hat with a red cross. The judges explained the normal rules, this would be a Cool Contest, meaning cool, beauty, and tough moves will give the coordinator points, while cute and smart moves will lower the scores, unless used in perfect combination.

Two coordinators with a Beautifly and a Breloom performed first before Hillary called Kaiba to the stage.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our next contestant, Seto Kaiba!" The MC announced. The room was then filled with female screams.

"Oh boy, it starts." Shanice groaned.

"What IS his secret?" Joey followed with a sigh.

The dragon trainer slowly made his way on stage. The girls in the audience continued to spew loud "I love you", "you're the best, Kaiba", and more.

Phoebe bit her lip.

Yami looked at her. "Don't worry, Phoebs, he'll be fine." He put a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't help it." She looked down.

Mikey narrowed her eyes to the side.

Kaiba held up his Pokeball in a case with a lightning bolt seal. He breathed in deeply before tossing the ball-in-case. "Dragonite, go!"

The plump dragon/flying Pokemon flapped his tiny wings upon entrance, as lighting escaped them. "Dragonite, use Dragon Rage!" The orange dragon, still floating, released an orange orb of energy from his mouth. "Quickly, use Dragon Rush!" Dragonite nodded and, in a flash of blue light, slammed his body into the Dragon Rage, disintegrating it into small particles.

"Show off," Joey huffed from the seats.

"I don't know. He's pretty good." Shanice said.

Tristan and Olivia nodded.

Dragonite then flapped his wings, summoning a twister that brought the sparkling particles to him. "Outrage!" the dragon Pokemon roared and completely ignited in flames. He hovered behind his trainer.

The people in the room gasped.

"That's kinda dangerous, isn't it?" Olivia asked.

"Hey, with Kaiba you don't ask." Tristan answered.

"My brother knows what he's doing." Mokuba finally said, too focused on the performance.

Kaiba then jumped up toward Dragonite's back.

"No way!" the other trainers were in awe.

Dragonite's body cleared of the fire when his trainer landed on his back, and was now glowing green from a Safeguard attack. Dragonite landed and roared lightly, ending the performance, still glowing.

The room burst into applause.

"Wow, I guess that's why he's the champ." Tristan commented.

Mokuba grinned, "Yup."

* * *

"I gotta admit, rich boy, you had some sweet moves out there." Joey complimented, trying to smile.

"Heh, why wouldn't I?" Kaiba stood in front of the mirror.

Joey sat in a chair next to him. "You sure you're up for the next rounds. I mean, what Mike said seemed pretty serious."

Phoebe walked in.

"I don't need more people worrying about me." Kaiba pulled out some bandages from his bag and took off the one around his arm, revealing the marks from the attack as well as the fact it was starting to swell.

"You better go to the hospital after this." Joey told him, staring at the brunette's arm.

Phoebe, still by the door, saw his arm in the mirror and tried to hold back tears by biting her lip.

"I will, Wheeler." Kaiba applied some pink ointment on his left limb and re-bandaged it. "Come on."

Phoebe ran out of the room, before Kaiba and Joey turned around. She returned to the contest hall.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Yami asked.

"Huh?" Phoebe snapped out of her thoughts. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"It's Kaiba, isn't it?" Mikey looked at her.

"Well…" The blue-eyed brunette began to say, but the boys returned.

"We're back!" Joey jumped back in his seat in the middle of Tristan and Olivia.

"Missed us?" Kaiba asked, sarcastically.

"Yes, Kaiba, we missed you very much." Olivia returned his sarcasm.

* * *

It was now Solidad's turn to perform her preliminary round.

"I wonder how good this chick is." Joey said, eating popcorn.

"Where did you pull food out of?" Shanice asked, staring intently at her friend.

"I stole some of rich boy's money while we talked." The blonde said with a naughty grin.

"Hey!" Kaiba glared at him.

"Tee hee hee," Joey had a playful, kitty-like grin on his face.

"Alright, Slowbro, it's time to put on a show." Solidad threw her ball-in-case with a heart-shaped seal. In a burst of heart bubbles, stood the water/psychic Pokemon with a blank look on his face. "Alright, start off with a Curse attack." Slowbro's body, not making a move, enveloped in dark red energy.

"That's a pretty evil-looking move." Joey cringed. Mokuba snuck some of his popcorn. "Hey!"

"Rain Dance," The hermit crab Pokemon still didn't move, as rain began to fall inside the stadium.

"Ugh, not rain again." Joey groaned. Brutroot, on his head, let out a tiny cry. "Good thing I have you, buddy."

"Water Pulse," Finally inching some part of his body, Slowbro opened his mouth and let out a pulse of water that went straight for the ceiling.

"I don't get it. Why is that thing not moving?" Shanice asked.

"Just watch," was all Kaiba said as he focused all of his attention on Slowbro. 'I know what you're planning, Solidad.' He thought.

"Now, Slowbro, surprise our spectators with a combined Psychic and Healing Pulse attack! [8]" Solidad commanded. Slowbro's eyes glowed pink and a surge of similar colored energy filled the room. The Psychic attack destroyed the Water Pulse, while the Healing Pulse attack sent a soothing vibe throughout the room.

"That feels so nice." Shanice sighed.

Olivia nodded in agreement. "You said it, Shay."

"Starting off with moves that bewildered the audience and then finishing it off with one that makes them happy, very impressive strategy." Yami said, galvanized.

* * *

"Very neat performance, Solidad," complemented Tristan with Perap perched on his shoulder.

"Thanks, kid." She looked at Phoebe, who sat a chair, staring at the floor. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the brunette shook off her thoughts.

Kaiba was looking in the mirror again as Joey walked up behind him.

"Steal anymore of my money and you die!" The brunette snarled.

"Heh, heh," Joey laughed nervously, "just checking on ya."

The others stood by the doorway.

"You think Kaiba is truly alright? You know, with his wound and everything," Olivia asked.

Yami shook his head. "No, but you know him."

Mikey looked at Phoebe, who looked at her with the same hint of worry in her eyes.

"We both made it to the next round." Solidad said, standing behind Kaiba and next to Joey.

"I know." Kaiba smiled through the mirror.

* * *

The 2nd round was underway and both Seto and Solidad demolished their opponents quickly. Dragonite faced off against a Breloom and Alakazam, as Slowbro battled a Beautifly and a Gengar.

Soon, the final match between Seto Kaiba and Solidad would soon start.

* * *

Kaiba was in the waiting room, looking at Dragonite's Pokeball.

'We can do this, Dragonite.' The anxious brunette thought.

"Wow, you're not in front of the mirror. Shocking," Joey joked with Mikey and Phoebe by his side.

"What do you want, Wheeler?" Kaiba asked, not in the mood.

"It's not what I want. It's what they want." The blonde said, referring to the girls with him.

"What?" He looked at his sister and Mikey.

"We think you should stop right now and go get that thing checked out." Phoebe said in a serious tone.

All her brother did was close his eyes and shake his head.

"Please, Kaiba," Mikey begged.

"Look, I'm not going to stop for anybody." He stood up and glared at the three before him. "Now, I have a match to win." Kaiba left the room.

"Damn, he's serious." Joey said, after a few seconds of silence filled the room.

Phoebe held the Pokeball-shaped locket around her neck.

"He's nuts." Mikey said. Herben, by her side, nodded.

Joey and Mikey walked out of the room, leaving Phoebe to look at the picture inside her locket.

"You coming, Phoebs?" Mikey asked, coming back into the room. She looked at the photo and saw Phoebe and her two brothers when they were younger, smiling. She didn't know what to say.

"I'm worried, Mike." Phoebe finally spoke. "I don't want to lose him because of this contest and-"

"Because of me…" Mikey softly said.

Phoebe looked at her. "C'mon, he DOES need our support." She put her arm around her friend and they both walked out of the room.

* * *

Out on stage, Kaiba and Solidad were ready to battle.

"I hope you're ready, Kaiba, because I am." Solidad told him, holding her ball.

"You know, as well as I do, I don't hold anything back." Kaiba stated, slowly taking out Dragonite's ball.

"Let the final battle begin!" Hillary announced. The room erupted into hollers.

"Dragonite, go! Slowbro, go!" The coordinators threw their respective Pokeballs and the two Pokemon emerged, staring at the other.

"Here we go." Joey said.

"This is it." Tristan added.

"Seto…" Phoebe looked on. Mokuba looked at her then back at the stage.

"I'll start," Kaiba looked at his dragon Pokemon. "Dragonite, Thunderbolt!"

The dragon obliged and released a surge of blue electricity from his antennae.

"Slowbro, Amnesia." The pink Psychic type's body glowed and the electric attack bounced off.

Kaiba growled. "I knew she would do something like that. Dragonite, Thunder Punch!"

Dragonite nodded and flew towards Slowbro with an electrified fist.

"Withdraw," Solidad said in monotone. Like the last attack, the Thunder Punch bounced off of Slowbro's shell.

"You know, Kaiba doesn't seem to be himself right now." Shanice said.

"No, he doesn't." Yami also said.

"Come on, I know you can do better than that." Solidad taunted.

Dragonite looked at his master.

"_She's right, Seto. What are you doing?_" He asked.

Kaiba shook off his drowsiness that he suddenly felt. "Dragon Rage!"

Dragonite rose to the ceiling and spat out a ball of orange energy.

"Confusion!" Solidad commanded. Slowbro's body became a pinkish purple and the dragon attack slammed against Dragonite. Dragonite's health bar lowered to 83%, while Slowbro still was at 100%.

"What the hell are you doing, Kaiba?" Joey yelled, standing up.

"Joey, calm down." Yami calmly reprimanded.

"I thought you said you were holding nothing back?" Solidad questioned.

"I'm not." Her opponent replied, weakly.

"Then, go!" She raised her voice. "Slowbro, Psychic!"

"_Slooooo…_" The water/psychic Pokemon's body glowed a darker purple than from Confusion.

"Dragonite, Thunder Punch!" Kaiba snapped back. The dragon nodded and dove toward his opponent.

"…_bro!_" The psychic collided with Dragonite and forced him back in front of Kaiba, on the floor. He could not move. He flinched.

"How can Dragonite flinch? He has the Inner Focus ability." Kaiba asked, confused and angry.

"My Slowbro has the Kings Rock item attached to him. [9]" Solidad clarified.

Kaiba now noticed the rusty crown on his head.

"Grr, shit!" The brunette cussed under his breath.

"Finish this with Ice Beam!" Slowbro opened his mouth and struck Dragonite.

"Oh no!" Joey, Tristan, Shanice, and Olivia cried.

"Seto!" cried Mokuba and Phoebe.

Dragonite was still standing, out of breath, after chewing a blue strawberry-looking fruit.

"Thank God," Kaiba exhaled in relief.

"Why is your Pokemon still standing?" Solidad asked in shock.

"My Dragonite was holding a Yache Berry and he ate it before getting hit by your attack, weakening your ice type move." Kaiba explained, looking at his Pokemon's health bar, which read 25%.

Everyone in the audience sighed.

"Intense!" Tristan and Shanice exclaimed.

"Yeah, but does Kaiba have a chance to come back?" Joey asked.

Yami looked at the time which read a minute, "knowing Kaiba, yes."

"Nice, go Confusion!" Slowbro finally moved and engaged in his attack.

"Dragon Dance!" Dragonite's body ignited in blood read fire. "Dragon Rush!" With all his might, Dragonite tackled into Slowbro with his body now glowing blue. Slowbro recoiled back and his HP lowered dramatically to 40%.

"That was a pretty neat comeback." Solidad said, "But not good enough, Psychic!" The hermit crab Pokemon stood up and released his strongest attack, yet again.

Kaiba smirked. "Sorry, Solidad, but I win. Hurry, Dragon Rage!" Dragonite, with little strength breathed one final Dragon Rage that sent Slowbro aback, lowering his HP to 0%.

* * *

"The winner is…Seto Kaiba!" Hillary announced, excited.

Applauses up roared throughout the room.

Dragonite landed gracefully next to Seto. "_We did it!_" He bellowed.

"Yes, good job." Seto smiled a little, petting his dragon's neck.

Solidad walked up to him. Slowbro staggered to her side. "That was an awesome match."

"Thanks…" The victorious coordinator suddenly felt light-headed then fell over, being caught in Dragonite's arms.

"Seto!" Mokuba and Phoebe screamed as they ran out onto the stage. Their friends followed. Many people with cameras were right behind them. The two Kaibas stood in front of the brother. Their friends formed a protective barrier in front of the three Kaibas.

"Damn paparazzi!" Joey growled, standing next to Tristan.

"What do we do?" Phoebe asked, holding up Seto.

"I know," Yami insisted. Cindy jumped out from behind him and used her Smokescreen attack.

Solidad looked at them. "You guys, get him out of here. I'll take care of these no-lives." She ordered.

"Don't have to tell us twice." Joey said.

"Come on!" Olivia cried. "Follow me." The gang followed her out of the contest hall with Seto in Dragonite's arms.

Solidad smirked and looked at Slowbro, "ready, boy?"

* * *

At the hospital, Phoebe sat outside the room her brother was in.

'Why did he have to be so stupid?' She thought as she looked down with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, Phoebe," the middle Kaiba saw Yugi who had a sympathetic smile. "Are you hungry?" He asked. Phoebe shook her head no, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "You shouldn't feel bad. Your brother is one of the toughest people I know." Yugi assured, sitting down next to her. "I warned him also."

The doctor came out of the room. "You can go see him now, but he's very rash." He told them.

"Thank you." Phoebe bowed and went into the room. The doctor left when the others arrived.

"Hey, Yuge how's rich boy?" Joey asked, holding a bottle of water with Brutroot sleeping on his head.

"He should be fine. Phoebe's in there with him." Mokuba ran into the room with his Bulbasaur. "Do they allow Pokemon in here?"

Shanice looked at Yugi. "We don't care. They'll have to throw us out." She held her blue, poisonous rabbit Pokemon.

"Where are Tristan and Olivia?" Yugi continued.

"They're still in the cafeteria." Mikey answered melancholy.

* * *

In the patient room, Phoebe was sitting by brother's bed, in a chair. Kaiba sat up. An IV bag with pink liquid was connected to his wrist by lines.

"Ok, before you say anything, I want to say-"

"Seto, don't speak." Phoebe interrupted him. Her brown bangs were covering her sad eyes.

Mokuba sat on the edge of the bed. "You really scared us, bro." He said, frowning.

Seto closed his eyes and sighed. The others came in.

"Everything alright in here?" Joey asked.

Phoebe looked up.

"Before you blame your brother, Phoebe, this was my fault." Mikey said, not looking at either of the Kaibas.

"Mikey…" The two younger Kaibas said, sadly. They could tell she was extremely guilty.

"Mind if I cut in?" Solidad asked at the entrance. Everyone looked at her, shocked.

"What are you doing here?" Yugi asked.

The rose-haired coordinator smiled. "I'm here to check on Kaiba and to give him his prize." She walked up to him and held up a red ribbon with a circular brooch.

"Hilary actually gave it to you to give to me?" Seto asked, surprised.

"Yup," Solidad nodded, "and if you're worried about the paparazzi, don't because Slowbro handled it. They won't remember a thing. [10]" She giggled. "His Psychic also erased the tapes."

"Thanks, Solidad." Mokuba said.

"Yeah, a lot," Phoebe followed.

Solidad grinned and handed Seto the ribbon. "No problem, take care and you feel better Kaiba." She left the room.

"So, how long are you gonna be here?" Joey asked, his Turtwig finally waking up.

"Who knows? It could be awhile." Seto replied, putting the ribbon on the table.

"There goes the rest of our vacation." Shanice complained.

"Shay," Olivia scolded.

The other chuckled, nervously.

* * *

About a half an hour after everyone left, Seto pulled out the IV and gathered his belongings before leaving.

* * *

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Phoebe asked, leaning over the balcony with Mikey next to her.

"I don't know. I hope so." The green-eyed brunette said.

"He's my brother, why are YOU upset so much?"

"Uh…"

"Yo," came Seto's voice from the doorway.

The two girls jumped up and grabbed each other.

"Seto, don't ever do that again." Phoebe said, loudly.

"Sorry," he smirked.

"Wait, what are you doing out of the hospital?" Phoebe asked, letting go of Mikey who stood there quietly.

"I couldn't stay there and risk our contest time short. Besides," he stood next to Mikey. "I feel fine."

"I'm sorry." Mikey apologized.

"Stop apologizing, Copper-girl." Seto pulled out his red ribbon.

"We each have one ribbon." Phoebe clarified, taking out her light blue ribbon.

Mikey sighed. "I guess that means my 2nd contest is next, huh?" She held up her small blue ribbon.

"Yes," the dragon trainer said.

Phoebe smiled. "So, where to?"

"Paris," her brother announced.

"Paris?" Mikey and Phoebe squealed, happily.

The three coordinators then held up their ribbons, one step closer to the Grand Festival.

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Contest Scores: In this order: Contesta, Sukizo, and Nurse Joy  
**

**Seto (10, 10, 10=30)**  
**Solidad (9, 10, 10=29)**

* * *

[8] Healing Pulse was introduced in generation V, therefore does not have a set contest type. It is now defaulted to "beauty".

[9] Kings Rock has a high chance of making a move that doesn't flinch the opponent to carry out the status infliction. Inner Focus ability is negated when flinched from a Pokemon with Kings Rock. That is now the case.

[10] Amnesia now has the nasty side effect of affecting humans' memories. It has no control of what memories the Pokemon will erase without experience. **  
**


	13. Christmas in Paris

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. FYI, I know zip about French and/or Paris so don't judge the chapter because of that please. Also this chapter contains a tiny bit of citrus..if you don't know what that means, look it up. This chapter is ready just in time for the holidays. Hope you enjoy! Please R&R (Read and Review).

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon/spirit cries/speech

'normal': thinking

'_italic_': Pokemon/spirit thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

* * *

**Christmas in Paris  
**

* * *

**~Day 10~**

A beautiful winter morning began with the student Pokemon trainers taking a private jet to Paris, France. Ten and a half hours later, at around 19:40PM, they arrived at Charles De Gaulle Airport.

Joey stretched and yawned, "Are we there yet?"

Phoebe closed her laptop with a purple and black zebra pattern cover and looked at him from the front. "Yeah, why don't you wake everyone up?"

The sheepish blond nodded and began to wake the others up, but Perap appeared out of his ball and made a sound like an alarm clock. Tristan jumped up and whacked his Pokemon on his music-note-shaped head to quiet him. The rest of the group followed.

"I guess we're there." Shanice said, waking up next to Joey.

"Who set the alarm?" Mokuba asked, waking up next to his sister.

"That was Perap. He copied the sound of my alarm clock." Tristan replied, "so much that I don't use it anymore."

Olivia laughed next to him, holding a falling Perap. Yugi put his red iPod in his bag. He and Mikey have been sharing it for four hours of the flight.

Seto was the first to stand up. "C'mon gather your things so we can get the hell out of here." He picked up one of his suitcases from the overhead compartment and walked out of the plane.

"Don't forget your passports." Phoebe informed, following him with her stuff.

Everyone else gathered their things and exited the aircraft.

* * *

"Here's the best part about leaving the airport," Joey said, placing his bags on the stand to get them checked, "bag checking."

"I'm sure it can't be all bad." Shanice followed, releasing Nina from her ball.

"What are you doing?" The blond asked.

"If you're a Pokemon trainer, it's sort of a law to show them your Pokemon." Yugi told him, summoning Cindy and Swallow along with three other Pokemon.

One resembled a black firefly whose face and belly was blue with yellow stripes. He had black and gold antennae with yellow stripes on his belly. The second of his Pokemon was a pink bull dog with blue polka dots on his belly and ruffled fur. The last looked like a small, vermillion tortoise with a black shell made of coal that had holes, glowing like the Earth's crust.

Joey looked on as everyone handed the men their Pokemon and if they were large, like Doduo and Swallow, they were looked at carefully. "Stupid laws, he huffed under his breath.

* * *

About twenty minutes later the first group finished getting checked. Yugi, Mikey, Shanice, and Tristan joined each other by the doors.

"Where the hell is Joey?" Shanice asked, irritated.

Brutroot, Pidgey, and Oddish ran towards them in tears. Joey ran behind them with his bags. The three green Pokemon jumped into Yugi, Shanice, and Tristan's arms respectfully.

"I guess they're afraid of strangers." Their trainer said out of breath. The Kaiba siblings and Olivia soon joined them.

"Did everything go okay?" The pink haired teen asked, holding Eli.

Joey returned Pidgey and Oddish and took Brutroot from Yugi. "Nope," he sighed.

"Alright, come on. We need to hurry and catch the Métro to the hotel." Kaiba announced, walking out of the building.

* * *

They made it to the bus station about five minutes later.

"Are we taking a bus or the subway?" Tristan asked.

"_sub-bus,_" Perap chirped, popping out of his ball again.

"Do you ever stay in your ball?" His owner glared.

"We're taking the Métro, one of the coolest ways to travel in Paris. The tickets are pretty cheap." Phoebe said from the bus.

"She lies, they really aren't." Mokuba said.

"How much are they then?" Joey asked.

"€1.70 each," replied Seto.

"What does that mean?"

"That means they are $2.23 each, Joe." Phoebe said.

"Meaning the total will be $20.07 for all of us." Seto concluded.

"Wow!" Joey exclaimed.

* * *

After getting the tickets, they got on the Métro. The small Pokemon were put above their owners in the netting.

"I can't wait until we start exploring Paris!" Phoebe squealed.

"I know. It's such a romantic city." Olivia sighed, placing her head on Tristan's shoulder.

"Don't expect me to get you anything expensive." He said, smiling.

"It's okay, my love. I know my gift will be special." The pink-headed teen assured. She kissed her boyfriend who returned it.

"Aw!" Phoebe and Shanice giggled at the couple.

"This place is perfect for them." Yugi said.

"Yeah, it's a wonder if Tristan gets any." Joey smirked.

"Ugh!" Kaiba groaned.

"What'd I say?" The dirty blond asked.

Olivia and Tristan parted and grinned at one another.

* * *

About thirty-four minutes later, the students exited the train and made their way to the hotel.

"So, where are we staying?" Shanice asked, holding her duffle bag over her shoulder with Nina poking her head out.

"This is where we are staying." Phoebe directed everyone to a tall, marble building with six floors and maroon awnings surrounding the window tops.

"Whoa!" Joey and Tristan exclaimed in awe.

"Sweet!" commented Mokuba, holding his Bulbasaur and wearing a gray backpack.

"Let's go." Kaiba scoffed, sternly as he walked to the door.

* * *

They were then inside the lobby which was decorated with ruby red walls, wooden tables with candles on top, a red chair, bookshelf, and the main desk. The two older Kaibas were checking everybody in and getting the keys as the others stood around looking at the place. Mikey, who was silent throughout the entire trip, sat in the big chair.

Yugi sat on the arm of the piece of furniture. "Are you okay?" He asked.

The brunette sighed. "I don't know." She replied bluntly, not making eye contact with her friend.

Yugi frowned and sighed at her sudden depression. A key was then tossed to him. He held it and looked at Kaiba before him.

"You two are staying with me." The brunet said.

Joey walked up to Shanice as Tristan was handed a key. "You guys are with me." The other brunet said to the two next to him.

"Great, I get to room with guys." Shanice sarcastically stated, rolling her eyes.

"Hee, hee, come on Shay," Joey giggled flirtatiously wrapping an arm around her.

The dark skinned girl sighed.

"You're with me, girlfriend." Phoebe told Olivia.

"Yay!" shrieked the other teen elatedly.

"What about me, Seto?" Mokuba asked his brother.

"You'll have a room to yourself." The eldest Kaiba told him with his arms over his chest. "However, the Pokemon will be staying with you. I think they deserve a vacation as much as any of us." He added, leaving the lobby. The others followed.

* * *

Phoebe and Olivia were the first to make it to their room with tan walls, brown drapes over the bed with a light behind the bed on the wall. The bed was small with a pillow. The sheets were cream, pink, and red in a square pattern with one color inside the other. Glazing windows, two red tables, and a flat screen TV across the bed made the room stand out. Finally, a pink couch sat next to the window.

"If this is the single room, I'd hate to see the double." Phoebe said, dropping her bags upon entering.

"Pretty!" was all Olivia said in reply.

* * *

Next, Kaiba, Yugi, and Mikey unpacked in their room.

"There's only one bed." Yugi affirmed, sitting on it.

"Well, it's a large bed so you and Mikey should have plenty of room." Kaiba smirked.

"That's not funny! Do you want a repeat of what happened in Cali?" Yugi growled.

Mikey sat on the couch, looking around the room. The double room looked similar to the single, only the main light was shaped differently. There was a dish with a sun-shaped frame under it, a long rectangular mirror to the right of the king-sized bed with sheets identical to the single room's, two tables, glazing windows that act as a door to a balcony, red drapes above the bed, and a flat screen Television across from the bed. Finally, a tan couch was next to bed beside the bathroom.

"What IS wrong with her anyway?" The blue-eyed brunet asked, glaring at Mikey.

"Well…" Yugi began.

**~~FLASHBACK~~**

It was the night before and Yugi was in his room of the Magic Castle Hotel packing.

"Phew! I'll never understand why packing is so hard." He complained to Cindy. The fire mouse Pokemon tilted her head. Mikey then walked into the room upset. "Hey, Mikey," the blond greeted, cheerfully. "You okay?" He then asked in a different tone.

"I just got back from Phoebe's room." She sat on the bed, "and Kaiba said that we're going to Paris."

"I guess Kaiba's okay." Yugi blindly stated, "And what's wrong with Paris? That's awesome!"

"Yugi, my nephew lives there."

"Whoa! For real?" he asked, sitting next to her. "Wait, why is that bad?"

Mikey answered him with a sigh.

**~END OF FLASHBACK~**

"She then went on to say that she hasn't seen him in years and that she's worried to see him because of his disease." Yugi concluded his explanation.

"Did she manage to say what was wrong with him?" Kaiba finally asked.

Yugi shook his head, no.

* * *

Joey opened the door to his group's room.

This room was exactly the same as the standard double rooms only they added flowers to the tables, the lamp has a red shade, the window does not lead to a balcony and the color scheme was a reversed red, tan, and brown from the standard.

"I love this room." Joey said, followed by a belly-flop onto the bed, "yup, nice and comfy."

"That's our Joey, the laziest guy you will ever meet." Tristan said as Shanice laughed.

* * *

"Alright guys, this is our room." Mokuba said with a group of Pokemon by his side.

Mokuba and the Pokemon were in the junior suite which was identical to the single room, only with a third desk, a computer, and a leg rest at the end of the bed followed by a longer lamp. The Pokemon with him were Blue, Ruby, Cindy, Nina, Brutroot, Perap, Bulbasaur, Joey's Pidgey and Oddish, Eli, and two of Yugi's other Pokemon: Volt the Volbeat and Spot the Snubbull.

"Damn, it's crowded." Mokuba pouted.

"_Sorry,_" Blue and Ruby apologized.

* * *

Later that night, at around 21:00, the gang met up at the lobby wearing winter attire.

"Goddamn, it's freezing!" Joey barked.

"The funny thing is we're not even outside yet." Shanice mentioned.

"Where the hell is Kaiba at? We gotta go." Tristan deducted.

On cue, Kaiba and Mokuba entered the lobby.

"Are all of the Pokemon okay?" Yugi asked.

"Yes," the brunet replied, "come on." The teens left the hotel.

* * *

When they exited the building, a black limo rolled up. The driver, Dante, walked up to them.

"Good evening," he bowed.

"Oh great! What's he doing here?" Joey asked in a frustrated tone.

"Joe, why do you have a problem with our driver?" Phoebe asked with a smile.

"Well, about a year ago he drove us to our almost doom. " He glared at Mokuba, who laughed nervously.

"Where are we going anyway?" Shanice asked.

"We're going to the Arc de Triomphe." Phoebe said with a hint of excitement.

"What's that?" Olivia asked.

"It's one of the most famous monuments in all of Paris. It was built to honor those who fought and died in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars." Yugi roughly explained.

"Wow! You ARE smart, Yugi." The middle Kaiba sibling complimented with a wink.

"Heh, heh," Yugi blushed.

The students then entered the limo.

"Ok," Joey began, stretching his arms and legs out. "Does anybody want to play a game?"

"What game?" Tristan wondered.

"How about," the blond rolled down the window. "Hey look – snow!"

The others looked out the window closest to them.

"Beautiful!" Olivia squealed.

"Snow is so pretty at night." Shanice added, eyes sparkling.

"Yeah," Yugi and Tristan agreed.

"Just in time for Christmas too," Mokuba mentioned.

The teens that were staring out the window then looked at each other with low expressions.

"I just realized something," Yugi began.

"Yeah, this will be the first Christmas without our families." Shanice continued her friend's realization.

"You're right." Tristan lowered his head.

"Hey, don't sweat it guys. We have family right here." Olivia said, brightly.

"Yeah, Lovely's right." Joey agreed. "Besides, we're on an adventure of a lifetime."

Olivia and Phoebe nodded. Mikey was still looking out the window. Seto just looked at the grimacing brunette in front of him.

* * *

The limo drove up to the monument after around fifteen minutes. After only paying $7.21, the gang was able to check it out. [11]

"Holy Shinx, that thing is huge!" The Brooklyn-accented blond pointed out.

"Holy what-now?" Tristan asked dumbfounded.

"Uh," Shanice raised her hand in front of the dirty blond's face before he said anything stupid.

"So what are we doing here?" Mikey finally spoke up.

"Oh, the mute spoke." Seto insulted. Phoebe elbowed his side, glaring at her brother. He returned her look.

"Glad you asked, Mikey. I thought it would be a cool idea if we took a group photo, you know, for memories and stuff." She held up a violet digital camera.

Seto grabbed it. "I'll take that."

"I thought we agreed you'd be in it, Seto."

"I don't do pictures." The eldest Kaiba told his sister, rolling his eyes.

"Do you ever do anything?" Tristan asked.

Joey chuckled, "Hee, hee, nope."

"Anyways," Phoebe walked up to a few feet in front of the arc. "Let's go. I'll just get him in the next photo."

The others followed and stood in various spots around her.

"Hmph! You wish, sis." Seto held up the device.

"Say Chansey." Phoebe said, holding up her index and middle fingers above Mokuba's head.

"Chansey!" everyone repeated.

Seto took the picture. "I thought people normally say cheese." He handed his sister her camera back.

"Normal people, not Pokemon trainers," Phoebe clarified, looking at the photo on the camera.

"Alright, let's go explore a bit before returning to the hotel." Olivia suggested, the excitement building in her voice. The others nodded and they were off.

* * *

That night, Mokuba was decorating a Christmas tree in Phoebe and Olivia's room. Phoebe sat on the couch. Seto sat down with her and put his arm on her right shoulder.

"Happy Birthday, sis." He smiled.

"Thanks." Phoebe looked at Mokuba. "He's always so excited about Christmas."

"What do you expect? He's a kid." Seto added.

Mikey walked up him as the little boy struggled to place a red ball close to the top.

"Need help?" She asked. Mokuba handed her the ornament and the brunette hooked it on a branch. "There!" She smiled.

"Mikey sure is nice to Mokie." Phoebe continued. Seto shook his head.

Joey and Tristan entered the room with bags of groceries.

"Hey Kaiba, thanks for having Dante drive us to a nearby store." Tristan said, placing bags on one of the tables.

"Sure," huffed the blue-eyed brunet.

"You wanna know what my fav part of Christmas is?" Joey asked with a huge grin.

"Let me guess…" Phoebe began.

"Eggnog!" The blond New Yorker pulled out a carton.

"I knew it." Phoebe sighed.

"It's freezing out so the rest of us can have some hot chocolate." Yugi said, walking in with Shanice.

* * *

A few minutes later, "the tree looks beautiful, Mokuba." Olivia said with Eli cuddling on her lap.

"Thanks, but Mikey helped." The raven-haired preteen patted his friend on the back.

"Well you are short." Mikey softly retorted.

Everyone laughed. Bulbasaur trotted into his owner's arms.

"This is nice. Now all we need is a fireplace." Tristan said, arms wrapped around Olivia with Perap snuggling against his neck.

Yugi looked at his Cyndaquil, who nodded. "Cindy can be our fire." He said as the fire mouse Pokemon sat in the middle of the room and ignited her back.

"Great idea, Yugi," Shanice said, sighing.

"Now we can be warm without using the heater." Joey sat down next to her after getting more eggnog. Nina and Brutroot smiled at each other.

The other Pokemon sat or slept by the window.

"So, what are we doing for Christmas?" Mokuba asked.

"Well, Mokie, because it's my birthday, we are going to do things my way." Phoebe told him with a smirk.

"Figures," Joey mumbled under his breath.

"Don't worry, Joe. It'll be fun." Vapor walked up to her with a bowl in her mouth. "Thanks, girl," she pet her shiny Vaporeon's head.

"_You're welcome._" The water type went back to Glacier and the others by the window.

"What are you doing?" Seto asked, sternly.

"We are doing Secret Santa." Phoebe announced, holding up the black bowl filled with small pieces of paper.

"What's that?" Joey asked.

"It's when people pick a random person to give a present to. No one can know who it is you are getting a present for." Yugi explained to his best friend.

"And he does it again," Phoebe chuckled.

"Sounds like fun," said Olivia.

Tristan laughed.

"Since it's my birthday and idea, I go first." Phoebe put her hand in the bowl and took out a piece of paper. "Here little bro," she handed the dish to Mokuba who repeated the process. After him it went to Yugi, Shanice, Joey, Tristan, Olivia, Mikey, and then finally Seto.

"Ok, so what if you're new to the group and have no idea what that person likes?" Mikey asked feeling left out.

"Then get them whatever. It's Christmas. I'm sure he/she won't mind." Phoebe reassured her.

"Ok," Mikey sighed.

Yugi got up from where he was sitting and tapped her shoulder. "Let's get some sleep and worry about it in the morning." He told her. The two left for their room. Seto followed.

Soon all that was left was Phoebe and Olivia.

* * *

"So, do you have anything else planned for your birthday or Christmas?" Olivia asked, coming out of the bathroom with a pink nightgown on.

"Well I had an idea, but I don't want it to be a disaster." Phoebe answered on the bed.

"I'm sure it won't be." The purple-eyed teen lied down next to her.

"We'll see," was the last thing Phoebe said before falling asleep.

The other girl looked toward the window. 'I wonder if I should talk to Yugi.' She thought in silence.

* * *

Out of his room, on the balcony, Yugi sat in a chair.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" He asked Yami.

"_Who?_" the spirit wondered.

"Mikey,"

"_You still worried about her?_" Yami asked, sitting next to him.

"She, herself, is worried about a family member." His partner replied.

A pink, transparent dragon jumped off the roof, in front of them.

Yugi began to let out a scream but Yami covered his mouth.

"_Easy, it's only Lovely._" He uncovered his partner's mouth.

"_Sorry to interrupt the nice conversation you boys were having._" The bubbly reptile said, wagging her tail.

"Why are you appearing in this form?" Yugi asked.

"'_Cause I'm on official business, I AM a love guru._" Olivia replied.

"Don't you mean love-"

"_Shush!_" The pink dragonoid interrupted the spiky-headed teen. "_I don't like to use the other word._"

The balcony door opened.

"_Ah!_" Olivia raised her wings and leapt over the balcony.

"Love!" Yugi looked over and saw her, claws latched on the marble of the building. He sighed in relief.

"Yugi?"

The blond turned to see Mikey.

"Hey Mike," he nervously smiled.

"Who are you talking to?" The brunette asked, sitting in the chair. She then turned to Yami, "Oh, hey Yami."

"_Hello,_" the spirit of the puzzle smiled. "_He was talking to me._"

"Oh I see." Mikey nodded. "Why did you yell 'love'?"

"Love?" Yugi blinked. "Oh yeah, I was saying how much I LOVE the scenery of this place, heh, heh love, love, LOVE!" The purple-eyed teen laughed aloud and turned away, hiding the huge blush on his face.

Yami chuckled softly.

"Oh, ok," Mikey got up and walked toward him. "Goodnight, Yuge." She hugged him from behind then returned to the room.

"Goodnight, Mikey." He said, smiling.

Lovely resurfaced. "_Whoa!_" She exclaimed, landing on Yugi's shoulder.

"What?"

"_She can see Yami?_"

Yami stared at the pink creature. "_What's wrong with that?_"

"_Did you ever wonder how that's possible?_" She asked.

"It crossed our minds." Yugi sighed, "But I also wondered how you could see him."

"_Look at me, Yugi!_" She pointed a claw at herself. "_I have the ability to transform into a medium-sized dragonic being. What more do you want?_"

"_With a heart on its belly,_" Yami remarked, laughing.

Lovely growled to herself as the two Yugis burst out laughing.

* * *

**~Day 11~**

The next morning arrived and once again the only one asleep was Mikey.

"You think we should wake her up?" came Shanice's voice from the bedside.

"Yeah, who knows what would happen if she woke up later," followed Joey.

"I heard it was difficult to wake her up." The Nidoran trainer stated, holding her Pokemon.

"We'll see." Joey sat on the bed, next to the sleeping brunette.

"What are you doing?"

Joey shushed her. The dirty blond then stroked Mikey's cheek and leaned in closer to her face. "Wake up, beautiful." He softly kissed her cheek.

Both Shanice and Nina struggled to hold back their laughter.

Mikey smiled and started to wake up. She opened her eyes to see Joey grinning at her. "Ah!" She screamed, shooting up. Shanice backed up as Joey fell off the bed.

"Good going, Joseph." Shanice and Nina laughed.

"See, I told you it'd work." The dazed blond said before passing out.

* * *

Yugi left a store with a bag. "I hope she likes my gift." He said, looking at Cindy.

The fire mouse nodded.

"Yugi," came a calm voice.

The blond turned to see Kaiba and Mokuba.

"Hey guys." Yugi walked beside them. "What's up?"

"We should ask you the same thing." Kaiba deduced.

"Yeah, what are you doing?" Mokuba followed.

"Christmas shopping," the Cyndaquil trainer held up the bag. "Did you guys get your presents?"

Kaiba scoffed. "I'm not proud of it, but yes I got something."

"Me too, I ordered mine this morning." Mokuba smiled.

"Good, now we just need to find everyone else." Yugi said. "Come on."

As they walked along the streets of Paris, a crowd of people came into view.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Mokuba pointed at the crowd.

"Well come on, let's check it out." Yugi suggested as the three boys joined the group and saw a Pokemon battle taking place in the center.

One Pokemon was a black weasel with sharp claws and the other was a white mongoose with red scars on its face, ears, claws, and chest.

"It's a Sneasel vs. Zangoose!" Mokuba cheered gleefully.

"Blade, attaque avec la tranche! " The Sneasel's trainer ordered. [12]

"_Snea,_" the dark/ice Pokemon raised his claws, "_sel!_"

Zangoose dodged the attack.

"Mangriff, utilisez Éclategriffe!" The normal type lunged at Sneasel with blue-white glowing nails. Sneasel was taken aback. [13]

"Riposte!" Sneasel retaliated with a forceful claw attack as he glowed orange. The cat ferret was knocked out. [14]

"Le gagnant est Eric Covollo!" exclaimed a nearby battle coordinator. [15]

"Amazing!" Yugi and Mokuba were amazed.

The cluster of people shoved the three spectators out of the way to praise the black haired, brown eyed winner.

"That guy is a pretty good trainer." Mokuba commented.

The Sneasel trainer after several minutes, waved off the people surrounding him. He then looked at Yugi, Kaiba, and Mokuba.

"Hey, great job out there." Yugi held out his hand.

"I'm Eric Covollo." The raven-haired teen introduced. He then glared at the brunet next to him, "Seto Kaiba."

"Sorry kid, I don't know you." The CEO of Kaiba Corp replied with a scoff, walking away.

"Well I know you. You wrecked my family's life."

Yugi and Mokuba looked at one another.

"Get in line. I hear punks like you say crap about myself ruining your lives every day."

Eric growled. Yugi jumped in the middle.

"How about we not argue," he turned to Eric. "I'm Yugi Moto and that's Mokuba."

"What are you guys doing here?" Eric asked. His Sneasel jumped into his arms.

"It's an adventurous vacation…" Yugi replied scratching his head, "sort of."

"A friend of ours is entering a contest here." Mokuba chimed in.

"Oh yeah, there is a contest being held here tomorrow." Eric said.

"Tomorrow?" Mokuba and Yugi gasped.

"Mike better hurry up and register," said Mokuba.

"We have to find the others too," added Yugi.

"I know a way to fine them." Eric offered.

The three trainers looked at him.

* * *

Mikey was standing inside of a department store.

"Man, I knew this Secret Santa thing was a bad idea." She sighed.

"Hey Mikey!" greeted Phoebe.

The green-eyed brunette looked at her. "Oh, hi Phoebs."

"Having trouble?" The blue-eyed teen asked.

"I don't know what Yugi likes." Mikey sighed.

Phoebe became excited. "You got Yugi?"

The other looked at her, "uh, yeah."

"Well he is VERY interested in anything Egypt-oriented." Phoebe told her.

Mikey looked around. "Well I did see something." She then walked over to a stand with many trinkets. "This one looks pretty." She reached for a cat-head shaped medallion with emeralds for eyes.

Before she could grab it, a teenaged male with golden blond hair and blue eyes wearing a blue and black jacket took it.

"Hey, I saw it first!"

The blond looked at her. "Sorry kid, first come first serve." He said with a British accent.

The green-eyed coordinator growled.

"Grant Monroe," sighed Phoebe.

"Well if it isn't Phoebe Kaiba." Grant smirked.

"You know him?" Mikey asked, calming down.

"He's a Pokemon coordinator from England."

"Yes, I am entering the contest here." Grant told them with a smile. "Are you entering, Phoebe?"

"No," Phoebe patted Mikey on the back. "Mikey is."

The shorter brunette froze in place.

"So you're Mikey Coppertino?" He asked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Mikey angrily asked.

Grant changed the subject. "Do you know what this is?" He asked looking at the pendent.

"Um, not entirely," replied Mikey.

"This is the rare Jewel of Bastérde." Grant explained.

"Jewel of what?" Mikey was confused.

"Bastérde is the legendary Egyptian goddess Pokemon spawned from the cat goddess, Bastet." Phoebe thoroughly told her friend.

"Whoa, cool!" Mikey was intrigued and then snatched the item from Grant's hand.

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry, but this is really important to me. I'll see you in the contest." Mikey ran to the check-out.

"Why you-" Grant started to go after her, but Phoebe blocked him. "Move it, Kaiba!" He barked.

"Now, Grant, is that anyway to talk to a lady?" She winked at him.

"Um…" the blond Pokemon trainer shuddered with a faint blush.

Mikey snuck out of the bazaar after purchase. Phoebe smiled and ran after her.

"Bye Grant!" She hollered back with a wave.

Grant shook off his distraction. "This isn't over, Phoebe." He said under his breath.

* * *

"Thanks for distracting him." Mikey said.

"No problem," Phoebe smiled at her friend, "and you said that gift was important to you."

"Oh um, what I meant to say was…" Mikey blushed a little.

Phoebe smiled and looked up to see a bird shaped figure hovering above them. "Hey it's Swallow!"

The navy blue swallow Pokemon landed in front of the two girls.

"Hey boy, is Yugi around?" Mikey asked. The Swellow squawked.

"He said they're at the Eiffel Tower," translated Phoebe.

"Awesome, I say we go see him and the others." Mikey ran for the large tower ahead.

Phoebe and Swallow followed.

"Wow! The view from up here is beautiful!" Yugi cried out as his tri-colored spiky hair flowed in the wind.

"Yeah, it's also freezing." Tristan said, shivering while holding himself.

"Well it IS Christmas Eve." Eric noted.

"So, who exactly are you?" Olivia asked.

"I'm Eric Covollo, born and raised in the Neo Region. I came to Paris for boarding school."

"That's pretty cool. So are you a Pokemon Trainer?" Tristan asked with Olivia's arms wrapped around him.

"I don't battle often, but I do train and care for Blade." Eric smiled a bit.

"_Sneasel!_" the dark/ice Pokemon sharpened his claws.

Mikey and Phoebe finally arrived.

"Hey guys." Phoebe greeted.

"Phoebs!" Mokuba ran into his sister's arms.

"Miss me, little bro?" she giggled.

Eric looked at Mikey. "Mike?"

The brunette blinked twice. "Eric!" The two teens hugged each other tightly.

"You know each other?" asked Phoebe.

"Yes, he's my nephew." Mikey said, letting Eric go.

"Nephew?" the others were taking aback.

"That explains a lot." Kaiba said, folding his arms.

"So when he said you ruined his family's life, he meant the Coppertinos?" Yugi whispered to him.

Kaiba nodded.

"I didn't think I'd run into you." Eric said to Mikey.

"I'm here for the contest. I'm entering."

"Sweet!" the jet-black haired teen smiled at his aunt.

"Wow! Mikey, you gotta see this view," came Phoebe's voice. She was looking at the grand view of the Eiffel Tower.

"Uh, n-no thanks, I'm fine." Mikey stammered. She was still afraid of heights.

Everyone laughed and enjoyed the view.

* * *

Back at the hotel, Phoebe and Olivia were the first to arrive.

"You ready?" Olivia asked the coordinator.

"Yeah, it seems most of us bought our gifts. I just have to see if Joey and Shanice are ready." She waved to Olivia and went to Joey and Shanice's room. Phoebe took a deep breath before opening the door.

When she did, both Joey and Shanice hurried to cover themselves with the bed sheets.

"What the hell, Phoebe?" Joey yelled, the blanket covering his midriff down.

"I told you this was a bad idea." Shanice muttered with the sheet covering her chest down.

"I should be asking you guys the same thing!" Phoebe was infuriated. "Get dressed and come to the other room, NOW!" The brunette slammed the door shut.

"Those Kaibas ruin everything." Joey huffed.

"You should have locked the door." Shanice sighed. "Forget it, let's just go." She said, sadly.

* * *

Meanwhile at Mikey's room, she was with Eric.

"It's been years since we saw each other." Mikey said, sitting on the couch, looking down.

"Yeah, five to be exact," Eric added.

Outside the room, Yugi was listening by the doorway.

"How has your sugar and all been?" Mikey asked.

"I've been managing, taking insulin every so often." Eric replied, petting Blade who was on his lap.

Mikey sighed "have you been watching what you eat?"

"Um," her nephew scratched his head.

"Do you know what can happen to you if you don't take care of yourself?" She asked.

"I know, I know." Eric defended. "I've been a diabetic for most of my life."

"I just worry is all." Mikey said, looking away.

Outside, Kaiba walked up to Yugi.

"What's going on?" He asked.

The spiky-headed teen shook his head, "nothing."

* * *

"Are you two serious right now?" Phoebe asked, looking out the window of her room.

Joey and Shanice sat on the bed.

"Well, it's called knocking, Phoebe!" Joey yelled.

"How long has this been going on?" The brunette asked.

"A long time," Shanice stated. "In fact, the last time we engaged in that type of activity was in New York."

Phoebe's jaw dropped. "You mean…you and him…with my little brother around!" She yelled, furious.

"Hey, we didn't do anything too raunchy and he seemed like a heavy sleeper and-"

Phoebe's growl interrupted the dirty blond's blabber.

Olivia entered the room. "What's going on?" She asked.

"Joey and Shanice…let's say they were doing something inappropriate." Phoebe replied, holding back the feeling of wanting to choke Joey.

"We're not really together. Sex is sex to-"

"Shut up!" The brunette yelled, cutting Shanice off. "I don't want to be reminded of it."

"I guess they did the job for us." Olivia laughed.

"Not funny, Lovely." The aristocratic female scoffed.

* * *

Later that night, the gang gathered in a room surrounding Cindy the portable fireplace. Yugi stroked the blue fur of his Pokemon's head.

"Alright everyone," Phoebe began the Secret Santa event, "time for Secret Santa."

Everyone was excited except for Seto, Shanice, and Joey. The latter two were still silent because of their earlier actions.

Phoebe looked at her older brother. "Ok Seto, you're first." She announced.

"Are you serious?" The eldest Kaiba asked, standing up.

"I'm always serious." Phoebe replied, jokingly, sitting down on the floor in front of Eric.

"Fine," the dragon Pokemon trainer went to the bed and looked under it.

"What the hell did he get that he had to hide it?" Joey asked.

"Maybe he got you and it's a weapon aimed at you." Tristan smirked.

"Not funny, T!" Joey snapped back.

Phoebe snickered to herself.

Kaiba walked back up to them, holding a yawning, brown fox Pokemon. It was donned with a green and red bow and a bell around its neck.

"That's a pretty Eevee." Olivia said, admiring the normal Pokemon.

"Thanks, Olivia. You know a gun sounded like a good idea at first-"

"Please stop saying that." Joey begged. "I get how much you hate me."

Kaiba smirked. "Charming, but no, as much as it dreads me, this gift is for Mikey."

"Mikey?" Everyone was in a state of complete shock.

"Lucky," both Joey and Yugi mumbled under their breaths.

"Me?" Mikey finally realized.

"Yes, this Eevee is pre-trained with moves I think suit you and I expect it to be used in the contest." The two-time contest champion handed the novice coordinator the Eevee.

"Thanks."

"Seriously, don't mention it." Kaiba gruffly said as he sat back down and remained silent.

Mikey sat down next to Olivia.

"It's so cute!" The pink haired female squealed, rubbing the fox's brown furry head.

"My turn," Yugi volunteered, raising his hand.

"Ok, Yuge, what do you have?" Phoebe smiled.

Yugi handed her a rainbow-colored bag. "Happy Birthday, Phoebster!" He smiled.

"Wow, thanks a lot Yugi." Phoebe put her hand inside and pulled out six different colored bows.

"Those are for the Pokemon. You know, to make them look good for contests." Yugi told her, still smiling.

Phoebe put the items back into the back. "Aww there's even two bottles of perfume in here." She said.

"I guess that's so you could smell better." Joey added. Phoebe glared harshly at him. "I, uh, mean you already smell great, heh, heh." Shanice slapped his head. "Ow!"

"Thanks, Yugi." Phoebe placed her gifts on the floor and got up to hug him.

"No problem, sorry I couldn't afford better." Yugi said, hugging her back.

"It's okay. It's the thought that matters." She winked at him before returning to her seat.

Yugi blushed and nodded, then sat down behind his Cyndaquil.

Shanice cleared her throat. "I'll go next." She handed Joey a box wrapped in snowmen wrapping.

"I wonder what this is." The dirty blond unwrapped and opened the box to receive a red miniature computer type device.

"It's a Pokéradar. Now you can detect when there are shiny Pokemon around and I how much you love them." Shanice explained with a sweet smile.

"Thanks, Shay." Joey thanked with a smile.

Phoebe smiled and unhooked a purple jaguar style purse from the hanger and handed it to Shanice. "Here you go. I bought it from the nearby bazaar and I know how much you love designer stuff."

Shanice gasped. "Oh my god, thanks Phoebe." She hugged her after being given her gift.

"I believe it's my turn." Tristan said, holding a small rectangular box. "Here you go, Love." He handed it to his girlfriend beside him.

She opened it and was blissful at what she saw.

"Well, what is it?" The group asked.

"Would you guys give her a minute to enjoy her gift?" Kaiba arrogantly asked.

The pink headed teen pulled out a necklace with a heart-shaped stone made of rubies.

"Wow!" Phoebe and Shanice sighed.

"That's so pretty!" Shanice then exclaimed.

"Merry Christmas, Love." Tristan said, giving his partner a kiss on her cheek.

"That's the cutest thing I have ever seen." Mokuba said with a grin.

"Those two are definitely the cutest couple." Phoebe said.

Olivia and Tristan smiled at each other.

"Ok, ok enough of the lovey-dovey stuff." Joey butted in. "My turn!" he handed a medium sized present to his best friend. "Happy Christ's Birthday, T."

Tristan looked at him strangely, "for me?" He took the gift and opened it.

"Ta-da!" Joey let out as Tristan held up a black leather jacket with his name beautifully written in blue, green, and yellow graffiti text.

"Wow! This is really nice, Joey." Tristan said, utterly amazed at the writing.

"I drew it myself." Joey gloated.

"I didn't know you were an artist Joe." Phoebe wondered with a slight smirk on her face.

"It's from all that graffiti he did over the years." Tristan pointed out.

Joey smiled at him.

"So, where's my present?" Mokuba asked.

"Oh, it's right here." Olivia insisted, pulling out a box from behind her. "Here you go, Merry Christmas."

"Oh boy, it's a Pokétendo DS!" The extremely delighted Kaiba swiftly stood up. "I'm gonna play it now." [16]

His older brother grabbed him by the arm. "No Mokuba, you sit here and wait for the rest of this to be over."

"Oh, ok, thanks Olivia." Mokuba thanked his friend.

"Sure, little one," Olivia smiled and they both sat back down.

"Where did you get the money for that thing?" Tristan asked.

"I have my ways." She chuckled to herself.

"You're up, Mike." Phoebe announced.

"Huh? Oh right," Mikey stood up and looked at Yugi, who smiled back at her, "um, Yugi?"

"Yeah, Mikey?" the spiky-headed teen asked, standing up.

"I got this for you." Mikey pulled from her pocket the Jewel of Bastérde from earlier.

"That's really neat." Yugi complimented. "Is it really for me?" Mikey nodded.

"What is it Yuge?" Joey asked.

"I don't know, but I like it." Yugi replied with a huge, loving smile.

Kaiba stared at it from where he was sitting. 'The Jewel of Bastérde? How the hell did she get that and worse yet, why is she giving it to him? I want it!' He thought deeply to himself.

"I really like it, Mike, but I think you should wear it for me." Yugi said, unhooking it.

"But I bought it for you," Mikey said in confusion.

"I know." The purple-eyed Pokemon trainer re-hooked it around her neck, "but I think it looks better on you." He waved away some of Mikey's brown hair off her shoulder and smiled.

"Now that's cute." Phoebe chuckled.

There was suddenly a knock at the door.

"I got it!" Mokuba ran to the door.

"Delivery for Mr. Mokuba Kaiba," said a man when the door opened.

"That's me." The bubbly boy said. The man bowed and left after Mokuba signed for the present.

"Did you buy us dinner, Mokie?" Phoebe asked, noticing the cart.

"No, but I bought Seto dessert." The youngest Kaiba replied, revealing a cart full of chocolates and macaroons. "Merry Christmas, big brother!"

"Damn, that's the mother of all presents!" shouted Joey, mouth watering.

"Can we have some?" Yugi pleaded.

Kaiba glared at them then narrowed his eyes. "Sure, why not?" He growled after a sigh.

"yay!"

"But," he cut everyone off. "I get all of the macaroons."

"Best. Christmas. Ever!" Joey, Tristan, and Eric chimed in sing-song voices.

* * *

A few minutes later, "ok guys, it's mistletoe time." Phoebe announced.

"Sweet!" Joey and Eric approached her from both sides. "Not with me, you idiots." She held the festive plant in her hand.

"So who goes first and does what?" Mokuba asked as his Bulbasaur held the mistletoe up with his vine.

"Us," Tristan and Olivia said together under the ornament. The two love-birds kissed deeply.

"So romantic," Shanice giggled.

"Next?" Phoebe asked.

"Me!" Joey and Eric volunteered to kiss her.

"Ugh, fine, come here Eric." Phoebe sighed.

"Sweetness," Eric walked up to her.

Phoebe quickly pecked him on the lips. Eric sighed happily and fainted into his aunt's arms.

"Boys are silly." Phoebe laughed.

Joey, on the other hand, was disappointed.

"I'll kiss ya, Joey." Shanice offered. He shook off his mood and pulled the dark skinned teen into a passionate kiss.

Tristan and Mokuba's eyes widened.

"Leave it to Wheeler." Kaiba said, after taking a bite of his cake.

"You know, after what we saw earlier, I'm not surprised." Phoebe whispered to Olivia, who nodded.

The couple pulled away and grinned before sitting back down.

Phoebe looked at her brothers, then at her friends. "Who's next?" Yugi and Mikey quickly glanced at each other before returning to Phoebe's eyes. "I know, how about Yugi and Mikey?"

"What?" Yugi and Mikey said with a blush.

"Say what?" Joey joined, dejected.

"Oh good," followed Kaiba in a sarcastic tone.

"If not, I'll kiss her." Mokuba stepped in.

"You'll do no such thing." His brother hissed.

"No, it's okay." Yugi said, standing up.

"You're kidding," Mikey stammered a little.

"It's not like it has to mean anything." Yugi supposed.

"Uh, right," Mikey stood up.

Feeling his friend was uncomfortable, Yugi instead gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"He is so sweet," Olivia sighed with her head on Tristan's shoulder.

"I think I just threw up in my mouth." Kaiba said, nauseated.

"Jealous, bro?" Phoebe asked with a tiny grin.

Kaiba stood up, ignoring his sister's question. "Alright, you geeks, enough of this bull. Time for bed." He said, then he and his Pokemon left.

"Gee, somebody's a scrooge." Joey remarked as Eric laughed.

"Well he is right. It's getting late." Yugi let out a yawn.

"Yeah, I wanna be asleep for Santa." Mokuba said, picking up Bulbasaur. Everyone looked at him. "What?"

The room filled with laughter and soon the Pokemon trainers retired to their rooms.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

[11] $7.21 is equaled to 5.49 euros.

[12 -15] This battle can be directly translated as /Eric ordering Sneasel to use Slash, Zangoose (Mangriff) using Crush Claw (Éclategriffe), and finally Sneasel striking back with Counter (Riposte)./ The final sentence is translated directly as /The winner is Eric Covollo!/

[16] The Nintendo DS has been dubbed as Pokétendo DS for copyright purposes. Coincidentally, Pokémon is manufactured by Nintendo.


	14. See No Eevee, Hear No Eevee

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. Welcome to the first ever Pokemon LV holiday special as well as a musical. In this chapter, everyone will sing. Hope you enjoy! Please R&R (Read and Review).

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon/spirit cries/speech

'normal': thinking

'_italic_': Pokemon/spirit thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

**"normal": **singing

_**"italic": **_Pokemon, Yami, Lovely singing

**/normal/:** Pokemon and human sing

* * *

**See No Eevee, Hear No Eevee! Pokemon LV Christmas Special!**

* * *

It was the night before Christmas and all throughout Paris, France children and young adults everywhere were getting ready for Christmas, but none were more excited than the nine Pokemon trainers at the Hotel Britannique. The teenagers were decorating their rooms for the holidays even if only for one day.

"**Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la." **Everyone sang from their respective rooms.

"**Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la," **caroled Yugi from his room as he placed some red tinsel on the tree.

"**Don we now our gay apparel, fa la la, la la la, la la la," **followed his best friend Joey who was in his room, putting a green ball on his group's tree.

"**Troll the ancient Yule tide carol, fa la la la la, la la la la," **Tristan Taylor sang along as he straightened out the tilted evergreen.

"Come on, Seto, sing with us." Mokuba Kaiba pleaded with his usually cold brother to join in merry songs.

"I don't think so, Mokuba. I don't sing." His older brother replied sitting on the couch.

"**See the blazing Yule before us, fa la la la la, la la la la," **Shanice Lewis continued in the room with Joey and Tristan as she put some decorations on the window.

"**Strike the harp and join the chorus, fa la la la la, la la la la," **Mokuba added, grinning at Seto Kaiba, who shook his head 'no'.

"**Follow me in merry measure, fa la la la la la, la la la," **Olivia blissfully sang as she placed a star on top of her tree.

"**While I tell of Yule tide treasure, fa la la la la, la la la la," **Eric Covollo finished the chorus as he put together the tree in his aunt, Mikey Coppertino's room.

"**All these stars have come to shine so bright on this Christmas night." **Phoebe sang the bridge as she exited her room.

"**We can share this special time," **Mikey joined her in the halls. **"So,"**

The nine trainers then sang as one, **"Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la. Tis the season to be jolly fa la la la la, la la la la."**

"**Sing we joyous all together, fa la la, la la la, la la la." **Mikey sang again as the nine of them entered one room.

"Wish you'd all would just stop singing." Kaiba solemnly complained.

"**Fa la la la la, la la, la…la!" **the group of Pokemon trainers closed their song and laughed together.

* * *

In Joey, Tristan, and Shanice's room, the blond of the group was looking out the window as the others slept. Tristan then woke up.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" The pointy haired teen asked.

"I don't know. I feel like there's something missing, T." Joey replied, with a hint of depression in his voice.

"Like what?"

"Well, do you know what I've always wanted for Christmas?" Joey asked, turning to his friend.

"Uh, your two front teeth?" Tristan joked.

"No, seriously," the blond sighed.

"Sorry, pal. What then?"

The blond smiled. **"I want a shiny Hippowdon for Christmas  
Only a shiny Hippowdon will do."**

Tristan tilted his head to one side, "seriously?"

**"Don't want a plush of it, or a little toy  
I want a shiny Hippowdon to play with and enjoy**

**I want a Hippowdon for Christmas**  
**I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?**  
**He won't have to use the dirty chimney flue**  
**Just bring him through the front door, that's the easy thing to do**

**~SCENARIO~**

**I can see me now on Christmas morning, creeping down the stairs."**

A small Joey in his Turtwig Pjs is seen walking down the stairs, rubbing his eyes. **  
**

**"Oh what joy and what surprise when I open up my eyes  
To see a green Hippowdon standing there." **

Little Joey goes to hug his new giant, green Pokemon.

**~END SCENARIO~**

**"I want a shiny Hippowdon for Christmas  
Only a shiny Hippowdon will do  
No Croconaws, no Rhydons or Rhyperiors  
I only like shiny Hippowdons  
And shiny Hippowdons like me too."**

Joey danced around in the room as Tristan watched with a horrified look on his face.

**"They say Hippowdon would eat me up, but then**  
**I learned Hippowdons are vegetarians**

**There's lots of room for him at the Kaiba garden**  
**I'd feed him there and wash him I don't care what rich boy says."**

Joey's eyes sparkled as he imagined the same scenario from before.

**"I can see me now on Christmas morning, creeping down the stairs  
Oh what joy and what surprise when I open up my eyes**  
**To see a green Hippowdon standing there**

**I want a shiny Hippowdon for Christmas**  
**Only a shiny Hippowdon will do**  
**No Croconaws or Rhydons or Rhyperiorses**  
**I only like shiny Hippowdonses**  
**And shiny Hippowdonses like me too!"**

As Joey ended his song, smiling with glee; Tristan continued to look at him.

"What?" the blond was confused.

"You have got to be kidding me?" The brunet remarked.

Joey laughed.

* * *

Outside his room, on the balcony, Yugi looked over at the streets. He sighed, and then took in a deep breath.

"**I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need. **

**I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree. **

**I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know…"**

Yugi closed his eyes.

"**All I want for Christmas…is…"**

"_Yugi, what are you doing?_" Yami asked, appearing suddenly by his side.

Yugi then speaks but with a little musical twang in his voice. **"Oh, Yami, I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need."**

"_There is?_" The spirit asked.

"**and I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree."**

"_Really?_" Yami questioned again.

"**I don't need to hang my stocking, there upon the fireplace." **The tri-colored hair teen finally opened his eyes and looked inside his room.

"_Oh, I see,_" followed Yami once again.

"**Santa Claus won't make me happy with a toy on Christmas day." **Yugi looked at the ground.

"_Well I'm sure-_" Yami began to say, but Yugi interrupted.

"**I just want you for my own, more-" **Yugi looked at his partner.

"_Who?_" Yami was getting anxious with the questions he asked.

Yugi tried to cover up. "Um, I just wanna rock around the Christmas tree at the Christmas part hop."

"_**like with mistletoe hung where I could see you and Mikey never going to stop." **_The Egyptian spirit teased and puckered his lips.

Yugi blushed and pushed Yami away as the spirit laughed. "No! Just rocking around that tree and letting the Christmas spirit ring."

"_Ring,_" Yami said, bursting into laughter, "_and maybe we'll have some pumpkin pie and stop all this caroling._"

Yugi growled. **"You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear…voices singing lets be jolly-"**

"**Deck the halls with boughs of holly!" **Both burst into song simultaneously.

"_Ok, now that was weird. We should stop before somebody thinks you're crazy._" Yami suggested.

"Yami, I've known you for a year now. I'm pretty sure people already do." Yugi reassured him. They both laughed, not noticing Cindy, Blue, and Herben running off into the night.

* * *

Later that night, Shanice sat in her bed.

"**Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away." **She started to sing.

"**This day, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special. Last-"**

"and who is this someone special?" Joey asked, sheepishly wiping his eyes.

Shanice smiled. "No one, Joey, just thinking aloud."

"Oh alright, goodnight, Shay," Joey went back to sleep.

Shanice sighed and went back to sleep as well. Nina and Brutroot snuck out along with Eli and Ruby.

* * *

"_Where are you guys going?_" Eli asked with Ruby by her side.

"_It's our calling._" Blue replied with Herben and Cindy beside her.

"_What's that?_" Brutroot asked.

"_A holy Christmas ceremony, come on._" Cindy told everyone as they made their way to a group of ice Pokemon.

The trainers' Pokemon went behind the wild ones as Blue stood in front of them all.

* * *

"_**Oh holy night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear savior's birth." **_Blue sang beautifully.

"_**Long lay the world, in sin and error pining, till he appeared and the soul felt his worth." **_Cindy followed, now beside the white dragon.

"_**A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices; for yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn." **_Ruby continued harmoniously.

Herben, Brutroot, and the front row of ice Pokemon consisting of some Spheal, Seel, Shellder, and Snorunt began to sing with the other three. _**"Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices!"**_

Nina and the second row of ice types featuring Sealeo, Dewgong, Cloyster, and Frosslass sang their small part. _**"O-oh night…divine!"**_ The group of Pokemon held out their note as long as they could.

Eli and a Walrain sang their part. _**"Oh night, when Christ was born." **_The small elephant Pokemon tooted her long note.

"_**Oh night…a night..de-vine!" **_Blue led all the Pokemon into singing the final lyric of the song, each holding out the last note as long as possible. When the song ended, all the Pokemon roared or let out a cry to the heavens.

* * *

**~Day 12~**

The next day, Christmas morning, Mikey for once was the first of the group up.

"Eevee!" she called, outside of the hotel. She was searching for the Pokemon she decided to use in her contest later that day. "Where are you, girl?" Mikey sat down on a nearby bench.

"Yo, Mike, what up?" Joey asked, leaning over and placing his hands on her knees.

"I'm looking for Eevee." She replied. "I have no idea where she ran off to."

Joey smiled and held up a Pokeball. "We can use Oddish's Sweet Scent to locate her." He tossed it and the yellow-green radish appeared with surrounding sparkles. "Ok Oddish, use Sweet to gives us some luck."

"_Oddish,_" the grass/poison type jumped into the air "_Oddish!_" and released a twinkling, scent in the form of red-colored perfume. Sparkles could be seen around a nearby alley.

"Sweetness! Dat's where we're gonna find Eevee." Joey said, catching his shiny Pokemon.

"Let's go look." Mikey got off the bench and motioned for her friend to follow her.

They searched through the splendid smelling alleyway and finally came across Eevee, but she wasn't alone. Sleeping in a circular position were four three-tailed brown bulls with dark brown manes, silver colored horns and silver studs on their foreheads.

"Uh, Mikey, what are those Pokemon?" The dirty blond asked.

"Tauros, wild bull Pokemon who have very bad tempers and that will attack us without warning if we're not careful." Mikey explained. Eevee looked at her. "Eevee!" she called.

"Shh!" Joey slapped his hand over her mouth. The five bovines opened their eyes. "Uh, s-so what now?" he asked, voice shaking.

Mikey moved his hand away as Eevee ran into her arms. "Run!"

The two Pokemon trainers ran away as the angered normal types ran after them.

"You got any ideas, Mikey?" Joey asked as the two ran from the Tauros.

"I don't know. Those Tauros are using Rage and when that happens, there's no stopping the- ah!" Mikey tripped over a patch of ice and fell on her backside.

"Oh-no, Mike!" Joey ran behind her and in front of the Tauros.

"Joey!" Mikey cried out as she watched them charge for them. Just as their horns were about to strike Joey, another sweet smell filled the area. "Are you okay, Joey?" Mikey shuffled to her feet and stood next to him.

Joey opened his eyes and saw that the bulls were calm. "I'm fine, but what happened to them?" They both looked around.

"Look!" Mikey pointed to a green-colored reindeer with a light tan underbelly. It also had a red nose and red orbs in the center of each antler.

"Whoa! Is dat one of Santa's reindeer?" Joey asked. Oddish laughed. "What?"

"I think that's a Stantler." Mikey told him. Eevee jumped out of her arms. "Hey, where are you going?"

The buck looked at her and let out a cry.

"Oh come on, Mike, she just wants to play." Joey assured her. "She's very social."

Mikey slowly walked up to the buck. Its ears twitched as the coordinator approached. "Thanks for helping us, Stantler." The green normal type sniffed her.

Before she could touch it, a furry brown rat with buck teeth ran in front of the Stantler.

"_Raticate!_" it hissed at Mikey.

"That's not good." The female coordinator backed away.

Joey walked up to her and held a Pokeball. "Dis rat ain't so tough."

"Wait, Joey!" came a high, male voice.

The two trainers turned to see a nerdy-looking boy no taller than 4'11'' with short brown hair and glasses over his blue eyes.

"You know this kid, Joey?" Mikey asked.

"Greendale!" Joey elatedly ran up to the new arrival and hugged him tightly.

"Nice…to see…you too…Wheeler." The kid known as Greendale said through a crushing hug.

Joey released him, "Heh, heh, sorry pal." He then backed up to Mikey.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?" Greendale asked.

"Oh, right, this is Mikey Coppertino. Mikey, dis is Lint Greendale, an old pal from school."

Mikey smiled, "Nice to meet you, Lint."

The brunet looked at Joey. "Hey, I didn't know you were friends with one of the Coppertinos."

"Well, she's da good kind." The blond said, scratching the back of his neck.

The Raticate jumped into Greendale's arms. "I see you met my Raticate and shiny Stantler."

"Dat Stantler is yours?" Joey asked in surprised. "He's a beauty." He was mesmerized by the deer's jade hue.

"Good ol' Joey," smiled Greendale. "So, what brings you guys to these parts and is Yugi here?"

"We're here for the Pokemon Contest I'm entered into." Mikey said. She then looked down at her Eevee who was now talking to Raticate.

"_Ee, ee,_" the foxy Pokemon said, wagging her tail.

"_Rati, raticate,_" replied the rat Pokemon.

Eevee blushed some as the two normal Pokemon continued their conversation.

"You have a nice Eevee." Greendale complimented.

"Thanks," Mikey smiled, "and to answer your question, Yugi is here. He's back at the hotel."

"Oh, well maybe you could take me to him?" Greendale asked, returning his Pokemon.

"Sure, any friend of Yugi's is a friend of mine…" she then thought for a second. "I think." She laughed.

* * *

Back at the hotel, Mokuba was looking on his laptop about Grant.

"So, what do you have on him?" Eric asked.

"Well, Grant Monroe is a two-time contest champion who has competed in ten contests in Europe all of his career and won both grand championships." The youngest Kaiba explained.

"What type of Pokemon does he have?" Tristan asked, sitting on Mokuba's bed, next to Yugi.

"His strongest Pokemon are Steelix and Gyarados." Mokuba replied. Bulbasaur stood on his hind legs, asking to spend time with his master. The raven-haired teen placed the seed Pokemon on his lap.

There then was a knock on the door.

"I got it." Tristan volunteered, heading for the door and opening it to see Mikey on the other side.

"Hello, Tristan." Mikey greeted. Joey and Greendale were by her side.

"Hey Mikey, Joey" he greeted back. He then saw his other friend. "Oh, Greendale, what are you doing here?"

"Hi, Tristan, long time no see huh?" Lint said as the three entered the room.

Yugi was grooming his Cyndaquil while humming **Carol of the bells**. He then looked at him. "Greendale!" the spiky-headed teen jumped off the bed and ran to his old friend.

"Hey, Yugi, how you been buddy?" the glasses-wearing brunet asked as he received a hug from the other.

"I've been great. What about you?" Yugi asked in return with a huge smile.

"I'm awesome. Dad took me with him to Europe and I thought it would be cool if I came to Paris." The normal type Pokemon trainer answered.

"Sweet!" Yugi exclaimed. "We're here for a contest. We're traveling the world."

"I see. Your girlfriend said something like that." Greendale said, smiling.

"Huh, girlfriend?" the violet-eyed teen blushed, and then looked at Mikey. "Oh, that's Mikey. She's just a friend."

The aforementioned brunette laughed.

"Anyways, who are your other friends?" Greendale asked, looking at the two boys at the computer.

"The one at the computer is Mokuba Kaiba, Seto Kaiba's little brother, and the other is Eric Covollo, Mikey's older nephew." Yugi told him.

"You're friends with a Kaiba?"

"Well, Kaiba's siblings are nicer than he is. Besides," Joey began. "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be here, sorta."

"Yeah, where is Kaiba anyways?" Mikey asked.

"He went out somewhere with Shanice." Yugi said.

"What?" Joey asked growing a little agitated.

"Yup," both Tristan and Yugi said.

"That son-of-a-" Joey left the room.

"Should we go after him?" Mikey asked, confused.

"Nope," everybody else said.

"On another note, Olivia and Phoebe are shopping – again." Yugi added.

* * *

A few minutes later, outside on the balcony, Eric and Mokuba looked at Greendale's Stantler.

"You know who his Stantler reminds me of?" Eric asked Mokuba.

"Who?" the little boy wondered.

"**Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose." **Eric caroled.

"**and if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows,"** added Mokuba.

The two raven haired boys laughed as the shiny Pokemon looked at them oddly.

* * *

Mikey sighed.

"What am I suppose to do with you?" Mikey asked Eevee, who yawned and scratched the back of her head as if she wasn't paying attention.

"Hey Mikey, need help?" Greendale asked, walking up to her with his Raticate beside him. Eevee immediately changed her mood as she and Raticate began playing with each other.

"Um, well," she began to say.

"Here, try these on her." He handed her two pairs of tiny, black tap shoes.

"What are these for?" She asked, examining the footwear.

"Go ahead. I bet she likes them."

"Alright, Eevee," Mikey called her Pokemon. The normal Pokemon's ears twitched and she scurried to her partner. "Try these on." The coordinator placed the shoes on her four paws.

The fox Pokemon smiled and wagged her bushy tail.

"They feel snug?" Greendale asked her. Eevee nodded.

"Wow, how did you know they would fit, let alone her liking them?" Mikey asked.

"I know how much Eevee and their evolutions love the arts, so I had a hunch." Greendale replied, smiling.

"Now all we need is a tune for her to dance to."

"And this," Greendale handed Mikey a stick that looked like a Pez candy dispenser.

"Is this a Pokeblock case?" She asked.

"Sure is and there are already plenty of green Pokeblocks in there for Eevee. This contest is a Smart themed contest."

"I hope her moves are smart types." Mikey said, sighing.

* * *

In her room, alone, Phoebe was looking out the window as she saw couples walking by the hotel.

"**Last night I took a walk in the snow. Couples holding hands and places to go, seems like everyone but me is in love. Santa can you hear me?"** Phoebe sang. Ruby, Vapor, and Glacier entered the room.

"**I signed my letter that I sealed with a kiss." **She turned to her Pokemon. **"I sent it off, it just said this. I know exactly what I want this year. Santa can you hear me."** She opened the window and stuck her head out. **"I want my baby."**

"_**Baby, baby, yeah" **_her three female Pokemon joined her.

"**I want someone to love me, someone to hold me." **She peaked at her Pokemon.

"_**and maybe, maybe," **_They added with their left legs behind them in a stance.

"**He'll be all my own in a big red bow!" **Phoebe jumped to her Pokemon's side. **"Santa can you hear me? I have been so good this year, and all I want is one thing, tell me my truth love is here." **She began to dance, kicking her legs back-and-forth. Her three Pokemon mimicked her moves and sang along.

/"**He's all I want just for me underneath my Christmas tree. I'll be waiting here. Santa that's my only wish this year."**/

* * *

The door opened and the four ceased their singing.

"Is everything alright in here?" Kaiba asked.

"Oh, yes, Seto everything is great." Phoebe smiled and gave thumbs up to him.

* * *

Meanwhile in another room, Olivia sat on a bed deep in thought. She took a deep breath and began to sing like everyone else.

* * *

"**Do you remember me? I sat upon your knee. I wrote to you with childhood fantasies." **She looked down at her sleeping Phanpy.

"**Well I'm all grown-up now and still need help somehow. **

**I'm not a child, but my heart still can dream.**

**So here's my lifelong wish, my grown-up Christmas list. **

**not for myself, but for a world in need." **Olivia, in a flash, became her transparent dragon self.

"_**No more lives torn apart **_

_**and wars would never start, and time would heal our hearts!" **_The pink apparition held her note.

_"**and everyone would have a friend**_

_**And right would always win, and love would never end!**_

_**This is my grown-up Christmas List."**_

* * *

Tristan entered the room.

"Are you okay, babe?" He asked his girlfriend, not at all surprised by her current form.

"_Just want everything in this world to be right._" She said, looking up at her boyfriend and changing back to her human form.

"What do you mean?" Tristan asked, sitting on the bed and rubbing her head.

Olivia smiled and shook her head. "Oh never mind, I guess I'm homesick." She walked to the window.

"I'm not, even though it's Christmas." The brunet smiled, following her.

"Why not?"

* * *

"Well," Tristan breathed. **"I'll be home for Christmas," **he sang slowly, **"'Cause home is home…with…you." **

"Aww, Tristan, I love you." Olivia giggled.

"Same to you, lover," the two kissed sweetly, yet with a hint of passion.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Mikey was still practicing with Eevee.

"Here, Eevee, you want more Pokeblocks?" Mikey asked. Eevee nodded and waited in front of her trainer for her snack. "Uh-oh," Mikey said to herself. The dispenser was empty.

"_Eeeee-veee!_" the evolution Pokemon saw this and suddenly ran away.

"Eevee, wait, I'm sorry." The coordinator franticly chased after her Pokemon.

* * *

In her room, Olivia saw the two out her window.

"I have to go after her, hun." She told Tristan.

"Alright, just be careful." He told his girlfriend.

Olivia gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'm always careful." She grinned and ran out of the hotel.

* * *

Mikey ran until she was out of breath. "Why…is...she so…mad?" She asked herself in between wheezes. She then saw Eevee under a tree, whose branches had snowcaps, but also held red pomegranate-shaped berries called Haban Berries.

"_Eee, eee,_" Eevee jumped up and down, trying to reach the fruit.

Mikey noticed, not too far from her, a large steel-covered snake creature sleeping.

Eevee released a purple orb of energy and knock some berries out of the tree. Some of them hit the snake on its head. It opened its red eyes.

"Eevee, look out!" Mikey called to her Pokemon.

While enjoying a berry, Eevee didn't notice the steel Pokemon creeping up behind her. Just before it clasped its thick jaws over her, two vines snapped them shut.

Eevee turned around and screamed before hiding behind the tree. She then noticed Mikey and Herben in front of the tall steel Pokemon. The Pokemon snapped its neck back, breaking the vines.

"That is one strong Steelix." Mikey said. Herben agreed. Steelix wrapped its body around Herben. "Herben, no!" the grass type squealed in pain. "I'll get you out. Wurmple, go!" When the worm Pokemon emerged, he released many purple pins that didn't faze Steelix.

"_Wurmple?_" the bug/poison was confused.

"Crap, I forgot poison attacks don't affect steel types." The Steelix looked at her and Wurmple. "Oh-no, run!" Mikey told Wurmple, but the steel/ground type was faster as it clamped its fangs over the bug. "Not you too," Mikey stated as tears formed in her eyes.

Eevee growled and ran in between Mikey and Steelix.

"Eevee!" her trainer gasped. The Steelix dropped Wurmple, who was severely injured, and its mouth filled with orange energy. "Move out of the way, girl!" Mikey cried.

"_Chika! Wurmple!_" her other Pokemon tried to tell her to escape as well.

Steelix unleashed a Hyper Beam attack at them. Mikey grabbed Eevee and the two were frozen in place. The hyper beam struck them.

Herben, now free from Steelix's grip, looked on in horror with Wurmple.

When the smoke cleared, Mikey and Eevee were in one piece and a pink barrier was over them.

"What is this?" She asked, looking at the dome shield. A medium-sized pink dragon descended and glared at Steelix. "What is that?"

"_Hearts of Fire!_" it yelled, spitting out several fiery, heart-shaped bubbles. They bombarded the steel type. It roared in pain and left the scene by burrowing underground.

"That was so cool." Mikey exclaimed in awe. She then remembered her other Pokemon. "Herben, Wurmple!" she hurried to their sides. "Are you two okay?" They both nodded.

"_Are you okay?_" Lovely asked.

Mikey looked at her. "Yes I am thank you." She replied. "Who are you? And what are you?"

"_Um, it's me, Olivia Love._" The love guru announced.

"What?" Mikey screamed and gathered her three Pokemon. "What the hell are you?"

"_You don't need to be alarmed. I'm not going to hurt you._" Lovely tried to reassure her.

"Man, this spirit thing is starting to give me a heart attack." Mikey stated in exaggeration.

"_That's one of the things I wanna know about you. How can you see Yami?_" Lovely asked, now on the ground.

"I really don't know," was all she said.

"_Maybe changing will make you feel more comfortable._" Lovely glowed a golden light and the human form of Olivia was in her place, "better?"

"Not really, now that I know what you are." Mikey was still frightened.

"Perhaps I could explain." Yugi said, walking up from behind Olivia.

"That would be nice." Mikey said, still holding her Pokemon tightly.

"Ok, you see," Yugi began his explanation. "Olivia Love is actually a love demon that was brought to our time in the form of two beings. One human and one as a Pokemon known as Deikou which means 'demon of love' and is a reincarnation of a demon known as Lovoya who use to be the keeper love of beauty and she use to guard all psychic Pokemon 3000 years ago."

"So basically, I came from the time Yami is from." Olivia added.

"Does anybody else know about this?" Mikey asked, finally letting go of her Pokemon.

"Just my beau," said Olivia.

"When did Tristan find out?"

"About the time they got together," Yugi acknowledged.

"I actually told Yugi my history not too long ago." Olivia said further.

"Do you age?" Mikey asked more questions.

"Yes, 3000 years ago, I was cursed to be reborn as almost a normal human. The only difference I have from others is that I can still transform into my demon form." The pink haired teen demon interpreted.

"Tristan freaked out at first, but he got use to it soon after." Yugi noted.

"He must really love me." Olivia sighed, blissfully.

Mikey and Herben looked at each other.

* * *

It was time for the contest as the Pokemon trainers arrived at the Opéra Garnier.

"Did I mention these places never cease to amaze me?" Joey asked, looking around the waiting room.

"Maybe and look they have food." Tristan said, pointing to a long table.

"Sweet!" Joey and Eric bolted to the food.

"Mikey, your nephew sure is a lot like Joey." Greendale said.

"Yeah, that's why I admire Joey." Mikey said.

Yugi looked at her. "So, you ready?"

"Um," Mikey began to say but Greendale interrupted her.

"Of course she is. I helped." He gloated.

"Hmph, then she has no chance." Kaiba said, sitting in a chair. Yugi and Greendale glared at him.

* * *

A few minutes later, Mikey was alone in another room on Phoebe's laptop.

"I'm so glad you're doing well, sweetie." Her mom said on video.

"You too, mom, but I'm kinda feeling nervous about my contest." Mikey said with a sad tone.

"There's no reason to be nervous. Your friends are helping you, right?"

"Yes, mom, they help me a lot." Mikey smiled a little. "How's daddy?"

"He's been busy at work. Without Seto Kaiba to help him, he's been there for almost twelve hours a day, but he says he likes it that way. He says it's because he doesn't want to worry about you, but I know he really misses you." Terry said, smiling at her daughter.

"I miss you too." She lowered her head.

"Oh Mikey…" her mother frowned.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Coppertino, she'll be okay." Yugi assured her as he stood behind Mikey. Kaiba was next to him.

"Thank you, Yugi dear, how are you doing?" she asked.

"Stupendous," Yugi replied with a wide grin.

"How about you, Kaiba?" she then asked the brunet next to Yugi.

"Fine, how has your husband been with work?" Kaiba asked.

"Busy, but he doesn't miss you." Terry said with a laugh.

"I thought so." Kaiba smirked. "Like Yugi said, your daughter's in good hands with us." He put a hand on Mikey's shoulder and softly massaged it.

Her face reddened a little as Yugi growled slightly in jealously.

"Wonderful! I'll see you soon, honey. I hope." Terry said. "It's late here so good day. I love you."

"Love you too, mom, goodnight." Mikey smiled and closed the webcam software, followed by the laptop itself.

"Good luck, Mike." Yugi gave her a hug upon her standing up.

"Thanks, Yugi." She smiled and hugged him back. She looked at Kaiba.

"I have nothing to say." He said, looking away.

Mikey giggled.

* * *

It was finally time to start the contest.

"Welcome Pokemon lovers everywhere to the Paris Pokemon Contest!" announced another MC that looked like the previous three. She had short cut orange hair and was wearing a red tux with a matching top and bottom. "My name is Haylie Meridian and I'll be your host this fine evening.

The judges were the same: Mr. Contesta, Mr. Sukizo, and Paris' Nurse Joy wearing a hat with a green cross.

"Is it me, or are all da hosts related?" Joey asked.

"I'm pretty sure they are, man." Tristan replied. Olivia looked at the stage, intently. "You okay, babe?"

"Huh?" Olivia snapped from her thoughts. "Oh, I'm okay, T." She smiled.

"This is a 'Smart themed' contest so tough and cute moves will get you points as well as smart types, but avoid using beauty and cool ones because that's a big no-no." Haylie explained. "So let's get started with our first contestant. Please welcome, Grant Monroe!"

The blond hair, blue-eyed coordinator appeared on stage and the crowd loved him.

"These people cheer for anybody, don't they?" Joey asked with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, they'll even cheer for someone like you if given the chance." Kaiba remarked, sitting in front of him.

"Why you-" the dirty blond began to threaten, but was stopped by Tristan's raised arm.

"Ready, boy? Let's go, Gyarados!" The British-accented teen gracefully tossed the ball-in-case and out emerged a long, blue sea dragon Pokemon with two whiskers and very sharp teeth. He appeared with several bright blue bubbles circling around him.

"So Grant has a Gyarados, huh?" Phoebe commented from the crowd.

"I never saw a Pokemon as vicious as Gyarados used for appeal purposes before." Yugi said, next to her.

"Gyarados, use Rain Dance please." The coordinator ordered his water Pokemon. The atrocious Pokemon roared followed by a small rain storm filling the stage.

"Well, at least it's raining only on stage." Joey stated with a sigh, remembering the previous contest.

"Brine it up, Gyarados!" demanded Grant in a harsher tone than before. The water/flying type bellowed loudly, releasing a forceful of sweat from his pores. "Now, quickly use Dragon Pulse!"

Gyarados opened his mouth and breathed an orb of electrical purple energy, which entrapped the liquid and floated in midair.

The audience was shocked.

"How the hell did he manage to make that dragon move float?" Tristan asked.

"No idea," both Shanice and Olivia stated in shock as well.

"Now, finish it off with Aqua Tail." Grant calmly said.

Gyarados slowly raised his tail that quickly was enveloped in the rain water. He then slammed it into the Dragon Pulse/Brine ball that disintegrated into several falling sparkles. This ended their performance and the crowd went into an uproar. Grant and Gyarados both bowed.

"That was really good." Yugi said. Phoebe nodded in agreement. "He's definitely going to the finals."

"Do you really think so, Yugi?" Greendale asked, holding his Raticate.

"I'm sure Mikey has a plan to beat him." Mokuba said with confidence.

"If she even makes it that far," interjected his older brother.

"She will." Yugi glared at Kaiba. "Where is she anyway?"

"Outside, practicing," said Eric as he ate some popcorn.

"You gonna share dat?" Joey asked.

* * *

Outside the building, Mikey and Eevee were making last minute preparations. They had watched Grant's show on the television on the exterior of the Opéra Garnier.

"You remember the beats, right?" She asked her normal Pokemon, who was wearing her tap shoes.

"_Eee,_" the evolution Pokemon nodded her head.

Herben looked up at her. "_Chika?_" he tilted his head to one side.

"What's wrong, Herben?" Mikey asked her grass type. He pointed his leaf at the Pokeblock dispenser on his trainer's hips. "Oh, right, it's snack time." She unhooked the item from herself and gave her Pokemon Pokeblocks. She smiled at her two happy Pokemon.

* * *

"Alright, everyone, please welcome Mikey Coppertino." Haylie introduced as Mikey and Eevee in her shoes entered the stage.

Everyone laughed at them besides her group of friends.

"Why does Eevee have shoes on?" Joey asked, trying to hold back his laughter.

"It's how she's going to perform!" Greendale defended.

Joey swallowed hard. "Ok, ok I was kidding, heh."

Mikey put a little radio down and held the microphone. Eevee tapped the play button.

* * *

"**Jingle bell jingle bell jingle bell rock **

**Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring. Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun. **

**Now the jingle hop has begun." **As she sang, Eevee tap danced. She clicked her paws to the beat as her trainer swayed from side to side.

**"Jingle bell jingle bell jingle bell rock **

**Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time **

**Dancing and prancing in Jingle Bell Square in the frosty air!" **Eevee made a quick pose after that line, placing her weight on her right front paw, as her tail and left back leg were up. She went back to dancing when Mikey induced the next verse.

**"What a bright time it's the right time **

**To rock the night away **

**Jingle bell time is a swell time," **Mikey and Eevee, while tap dancing, moved across the stage and when they got back to center stage.

"**To go gliding in a one-horse sleigh**," Mikey raised her right hand to the ceiling as Eevee stood on her hind legs.

"**Giddy-up jingle horse pick up your feet **

**Jingle around the clock**

**Mix and a-mingle in the jingling feet **

**That's the jingle bell  
****That's the jingle bell **

**That's the jingle bell rock!" **

* * *

Mikey held the final note as Eevee leaped using her hind legs and spat out an orb of purple energy and slashed it into sparkles with an Iron Tail attack. Mikey took a breath and the two bowed when the song ended, sparkles surrounding them.

The room exploded into applauses and whistles. Mikey and Eevee smiled and waved.

"What a magnificent performance from Mikey and Eevee," sighed Haylie. "Give her a hand, folks."

The fanfare grew louder.

"That was pretty good." Tristan praised.

"Yeah, really unique," added Eric.

"I know she made it to the next round with that." Yugi said. Yami smiled next to him.

The preliminaries closed with four more acts following: an Aron balancing on a beach ball, a Gabite using Dragon Rush through a ring of fire, a Rhydon, and then finally an Aggron.

* * *

"Do you guys think I made it to the next round?" Mikey asked, holding Eevee. She was in the break room with her friends.

"I know you did, Mike, sweet idea to have your Eevee tap dance." Yugi stated, petting the fox like Pokemon.

Phoebe sat down next to Yugi. "Yeah, brilliant, I don't think I could have thought of it myself."

"Well, Lint helped me out." Mikey told them.

The two looked at Greendale who was by the snack bar with Joey and Eric.

"He did?" Yugi asked.

"Yup, he's a smart kid." She laughed.

"Hey guys, they're announcing the results of the first round." Mokuba reported to the others. The room turned their attention towards the television.

The results were in and Mikey and Grant were two of six participates to make it to the next rounds.

"Congratulations on making it to the second round, Mikey." Phoebe gave her friend a high-five.

"Thanks, Phoebs and thank you everyone for believing in me." Mikey said to all her friends, who smiled whole-heartedly at her.

"Yes, and good luck on your road to battle me," came Grant's voice from the doorway.

"Oh, thanks Grant." Mikey smiled at him.

"You're very welcome and I'll be sure to crush you when, or if, you make it." The blond haired, blue-eyed teen cackled as he left the room, passing Kaiba on his way to the stage.

"What the hell has gotten into him?" The brunet asked the group.

"He's just being a dick." Phoebe deducted. "Don't worry, Mikey, you'll kick his Pokemon's ass." She rubbed the other brunette's back.

Mikey just sighed.

* * *

The battle rounds commenced and Grant defeated the Rhydon and Aggron trainers with Steelix and Gyarados; Mikey defeated the Aron and Gabite with her Eevee.

* * *

Before the final round could begin, Mikey was outside with Eevee.

"I am so nervous." She told her Pokemon, "but even though I am, we have to go in there and win."

Eevee nodded.

"But, maybe it's best if we um stay out here." Mikey, with a change of heart, said. Eevee could tell she was uneasy.

"Mikey," Kaiba walked up to her with Herben on his shoulder. The grass Pokemon happily jumped into her arms.

"Hey, Kaiba," she smiled at him. "What's wrong?"

"You're what's wrong." He said with a serious tone.

"What do you mean?" Mikey asked with a frown.

"You always wanna give up, instead of going in there and facing your fears head on." Kaiba clarified.

"Well," she lowered her head. "Sometimes it's easier that way."

"You can't always take the easy way out." The dragon trainer told her. He bit his lip as he looked away.

Eevee and Herben looked at him.

* * *

"**Said the dragon trainer to the Copper-Girl  
Do you see what I see." **He reluctantly chimed.

Mikey looked at him.

**"Flying in the sky, Copper-Girl,"** he then looked at her and wrapped an arm around her waist, moving her closer to him. He looked away from her.

**"Do you see what I see  
A Starly  
Struggling to fly  
yet he never gave up hope…" **Both coordinators looked up and saw a small, grey bird Pokemon flapping its wings, including a fractured one, making it to the top of a tree.

"_**Yet he never gave up hope," **_Eevee sang, running up Kaiba's arm to his shoulder. The brunet let go of Mikey and moved about two inches away from her.**  
**  
**"Said the dragon trainer to the little fox  
Do you hear what I hear?**

"_**Do I hear what you hear?"**_ Eevee repeated.

**"Ringing through the sky little fox  
Do you hear what I hear  
Some words, some words  
from your trainer  
Who has a heart as pure as gold."**

_**"Who has a heart as pure as gold."**_ Eevee echoed again.

Mikey pointed to herself, "me?" She sighed. "Well," she began to sing the next verse.

**"Said the Copper-Girl to the dragon trainer  
Do you know what I know."**

"**Do I know what you know?" **Kaiba repeated.

**"In those contest halls, dragon trainer," **Mikey pointed to where the contest was being held.

**"Do you know what I know  
another trainer  
by the name of Grant  
He has big and powerful Pokemon  
He has big and powerful Pokemon."  
**  
**"Said the tiny leaf to the Copper-Girl," **Kaiba resumed.

**"_Listen to what I say,_"** said Herben.

"What did he say?" Mikey asked.

Kaiba shook his head.

**"Fine I will translate it for you  
Listen to what I say." **Herben scurries up his arm and whispers in his ear.

**"A coordinator  
who is scared out of her mind  
she must never give up hope." **Kaiba harmonized.

Mikey smiled.

"**I must never give up…hope."** The female coordinator held the final high note for around five seconds before ending the song.

* * *

Herben and Eevee jumped into her arms. They all looked at Kaiba.

"You tell anyone about what you just heard today, I swear I'll rip your trachea out of your throat and feed it to your Pokemon." The CEO of Kaiba Corp hissed.

The three swallowed hard.

"I promise, Kaiba." Mikey smiled and then chuckled.

Kaiba scoffed and walked back into the building.

Mikey grinned at her Pokemon and they returned as well.

* * *

"Alright everyone, we're just about to wrap up the contest, but not before the final round." Haylie announced walking to center stage. "Please help me welcome, Grant Monroe and Mikey Coppertino!"

The crowd hooted and hollered as the two coordinators took the stage.

"Yeah, Mikey, tear his snakes apart!" Mokuba yelled from the seats.

"Maim and dismember!" followed Joey.

"You guys do realize that she is using an Eevee, right?" Phoebe questioned the two boys. Seto sat down next her. "Hey, bro, where were you?"

"Well," he paused for a moment. "I was busy."

"With what?" his little sister wondered.

The dragon trainer did not reply.

"You ready, little girl?" Grant held his ball.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be." Mikey remarked, holding Eevee's ball.

"Go, Steelix!" The ball dispensed the iron snake Pokemon who bellowed deeply at his enemy.

Mikey then noticed a burn mark on his chest. "Wait a sec, your Steelix was the one who attacked my Eevee earlier, wasn't it?"

"So, you're the one who did this to my dear Pokemon." Grant accused. "No matter, he'll still beat that pathetic fox of yours."

"Get'em, Eevee!" the brown fox Pokemon emerged, wagging her puffy tail.

"Couldn't she use one of her other Pokemon against that monsta'?" Joey asked.

"Well, she ain't got much to work with, Wheeler." Shanice answered.

"Oh, right." The blond finished.

"Olivia, is that the same Steelix you attacked?" Yugi whispered to the love demon.

"Mm-hmm," replied the pink haired teen.

"Start off with Mud-Slap." Steelix regurgitated some mud that slapped Eevee in her eyes.

"Eevee," Mikey called to her Pokemon. "Are you alright?"

The normal type staggered back-in-forth, oblivious to her surroundings as the health meter went down to 95%.

"Autotomize!" proclaimed Grant as the steel Pokemon glowed white and quickly circled around Eevee.

"What does that move do?" Eric asked.

"Well, from what I heard, it makes larger Pokemon faster." Yugi explained as best as he could.

Eevee still blinded and now in a panic, fired some Shadow Ball attacks at the speedy Steelix with all of them missing. The meter went down to 93%.

"Dig, Steelix," ordered the steel/ground type's trainer. Steelix burrowed underground.

"Eevee, you have to relax so that you'll be able to tell where Steelix will attack." Mikey tried to calm her Pokemon down.

"It's no use, she's too scared." Greendale said.

"I know and not only that but, if she doesn't get that mud off her, she'll never win this battle." Tristan confirmed as he watched the battle with his girlfriend holding onto his arm.

"What can she do?" Olivia asked him.

"I don't know, Love." The brown haired, brown-eyed teen responded.

Steelix crashed through the floor, under Eevee, clamping his iron-hard jaws over her body. The young fox shrilled in pain.

"Eevee!" Mikey cried out to her. She watched her health meter dropped slowly until it stopped at 66%. "Iron Tail!" the little Pokemon slammed her glowing tail into Steelix's right eye, causing him to release his hold on her.

"Why you-" Grant looked at Steelix's meter which read 89%.

"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Joey and Eric.

"Now's your chance Mike, get him!" followed Yugi.

"I don't think so!" barked Grant. "Go underground again, Steelix." The evolved form of Onix burrowed back underground.

"Not this time Grant," Mikey said with a wide grin.

"What do you mean?" He growled.

"Eevee, Eavesdrop!" the evolution Pokemon sat down in place and twitched her ears.

"Attack, Steelix!" called the opposing coordinator to his Pokemon. Eevee continued to move her ears until she heard nearby rubble from the floor rumble. Steelix then appeared under her, but not before she swiftly jumped out of the way. "What?" Grant was in shock. Steelix's bar decreased to 85%.

"It's your own fault, Grant, when you used your digging to leave behind ways for my Eevee to listen on where you pop up next." Mikey said with pride. "So, do you hear what I hear, Eevee?" Her Pokemon giggled and nodded.

"That's the way, girl!" squealed Phoebe from the seats.

"Yeah, you got him now!" followed Joey.

"We'll see about that," Grant became restless. "Steelix, Screech!"

"Eevee, Dig!" the normal Pokemon dug underground, before the iron snake could perform his move lowering the bar to 80%. "Now, use Iron Tail!" Mikey told Eevee, who emerged from the ground with a glowing tail and slammed it into Steelix's chest.

"No, not there!" Grant frantically thought of something as he watched his HP lower dramatically to 50% due to a critical hit.

"Now you got him, Eevee, use Double-Edge!" Eevee headed straight in front of her toward her target. Her body glowed white as she forcefully bashed into his chest again, sending him flying and into the tier, knocked out. His HP read 0%.

"The winner is…Mikey Coppertino!" announced Haylie the MC.

Mikey was in shock for around five seconds. "Oh my god, we won!" She shrieked as her Pokemon jumped into her arms, mud finally cleared from her face. "You were amazing, Eevee." She tightly hugged her victorious Pokemon.

The others cleared the seats and ran onto the stage to join her.

"That was the bomb, Mikey." Joey wrapped his arm around her, gripping her side.

"Yeah, how did you manage to beat him?" Shanice asked her, before pulling Joey off her.

"Um, actually, I really don't know." She affirmed, rubbing the back of her head.

"I think I could explain it." Kaiba said. "You see when his Steelix used Autotomize, it didn't only make him faster, it lowered his weight as well. Also, when Eevee used Iron Tail, it had a 10% chance of lower her opponent's defense. Now you do the math and tell me how much damage that would do combined."

"That was so cool!" exclaimed Eric in amazement. He hugged his aunt. "I'm so proud of you, Mike."

"Thanks, Eric." Mikey smiled. Herben then jumped into her arms. "Herby, were you watching me too?" The grass type nodded.

"Miss Coppertino," Haylie walked up to her holding a small green ribbon with a golden circular brooch. "I believe this Paris ribbon belongs to you and Eevee." She handed it to Mikey.

"Thanks, Haylie." Mikey knelt down and began to put the ribbon on Eevee, but Herben gently tackled her out of the way and pouted. "Herben?" Eevee shook off her daze and jumped onto her right shoulder. Herben followed onto Mikey's left scapula. "Wow, that's just weird." She put her ribbon in her pocket.

Her friends laughed.

"Mikey," Nurse Joy walked up to her holding a case with a blue spiny egg inside.

"What is that?" Mikey asked.

"This is a Pokemon egg. Usually we never give out other prizes than the ribbon, but since it's Christmas and we have had this egg for awhile, we think it will be best if you take it." The pink haired nurse looked over to Mr. Contesta and Sukizo who nodded.

"o-o-of course I'll take it!" the coordinator stuttered from excitement. "Thank you!"

"That's awesome, Mike." Yugi acclaimed about the egg. "I wonder what Pokemon is inside."

Mikey giggled, "me too."

"Well, this turned out to be a very good Christmas." Joey said.

"I agree." Shanice said.

"Yeah," Olivia and Tristan agreed, smiling at each other.

"You know what would make this better?" Mikey asked.

"What?" The others asked.

* * *

"**Have yourself a merry little Christmas,**

**Let your heart be light." **Mikey softly sang.

"**From now on, **

**our troubles will be out of sight." **Yugi followed, hugging her with one arm.

"**Have yourself a merry little Christmas,**

**Make the Yule tide gay." **Phoebe continued.

"**From now on, **

**our troubles will be miles away." **Mokuba walked up to his sister and pulled Kaiba by the arm, pulling him toward his siblings.

"**Here we are as in olden days," **Joey and Shanice joined.

"**Happy golden days of yore,"** caroled Olivia and Tristan.

"**Faithful friends who are dear to us**

**Gather near to us, once more."** Mikey sang again. She took a quick glance at Kaiba who had his gaze on her as well. Phoebe hugged her older brother, breaking his concentration.

"**Through the years, we all will be together**

**If the fates allow," **Phoebe chanted. Her two brothers smiled at her.

"**hang a shining star above the highest bough!" **Eric sang as he took Yugi's puzzle and held in the air. Mikey snatched it from him and gave it back to the now baffled blond. Eric laughed nervously

"**And have yourself a merry little Christmas," **Everyone, minus Kaiba, harmonized.

"**Now!"**

* * *

Kaiba backed away as everyone became entangled in a group hug.

After parting, the group of friends all clapped, aside from Mikey who was happily holding her new Pokemon egg with her beloved Chikorita and Eevee on each shoulder.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**Contest Scores: In this order: Contesta, Sukizo, and Nurse Joy  
**

**Mikey (8,7.5,8.5=24)**

**Grant (9, 9, 8.5=26.5)**

* * *

**A/N:** Well hope you all enjoyed my longest chapter yet as well as my first (maybe last) musical installment. Please don't flame unless you find the need to. Surprisingly, I worked really hard on this one. Sorry it was so late. R&R. =)


	15. Reach For the Skarmory

**A/N:** Before reading this, please make sure you read the summary chapter. Thank you. This is definately an interesting chapter in my book. I also, like with the Paris chapters, know absolutely nothing about Madird. Please don't flame for my lack of knowledge. Not everyone travels. Everything is off the internet. Hope you enjoy! Please R&R (Read and Review).

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon/spirit cries/speech

_italic_: thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

**bold**: important works' titles

* * *

**Reach For the Skarmory! Happy New Year!**

* * *

**~Day 18~**

Six days have passed since the last contest in Paris. The now large group of friends traveled to Madrid, Spain for Phoebe's second contest and to celebrate the New Year. It was a peaceful morning as Phoebe strolled around the Plaza de Cibeles humming an upbeat tune. Vapor and a bronze bird with jade green feathers under its wings smiled at their partner.

Suddenly, dead center of the plaza, Phoebe and her Pokémon stopped and broke out into a form of Tai-Jutsu. The brown haired coordinator punched the air from left to right followed by a kick from her right leg. Vapor copied her, putting her front paws out and snapped her head to the right in tune with the beat. The bird Pokémon mimicked Vapor with his wings and flapped them both together when the water Pokémon did her motion.

Not too far from the dancing trio, was a boy around his late teen years with short brown hair and brown eyes. He decided to approach them. Phoebe and her Pokémon ceased what they were doing.

"Oh hello," she blinked. "Were you watching me?"

"I was and I must say you and your Pokémon were simply lovely." He replied in a gentleman-like manner.

"Well, I'm Phoebe Kaiba and-"

"Phoebe Jane Kaiba," the new brunet cut in with great surprise, "the great and beautiful Phoebe who made it to two straight Grand Festivals?"

"I see you're a fan." Phoebe smiled.

"I am Samuel Crane: great coordinator of southwestern Europe." Samuel bowed.

"No way," Phoebe suddenly knew who he was. "You're Grant Monroe's half brother!" The European nodded. "I assume you're entering the contest here?"

"You assumed correct, however, I am here for a bonus as well." Sam added.

"What are you talking about?"

"Could I ask for a favor?" The male trainer asked.

Phoebe was stunned to learn of what it was.

* * *

In front of the Hotel Regina Madrid, Mikey and Yugi were having a friendly match.

"Wurmple, use Tackle!" Mikey called to her bug/poison Pokémon. The string shot Pokémon scurried toward the blue pheasant in front of him.

"Swallow, Wing Attack!" demanded the opposing trainer. Swallow nodded and lifted himself up above Wurmple, who stopped in his tracks. "Retaliate!" The swallow Pokémon swooped down and whacked the red worm with his wing.

"Hey, no fair Yuge, You can't hit a blind bug." Mikey said, frustrated.

"Uh," both Yugi and Swallow rubbed their heads.

"Tee hee, Wurmple, Poison Sting!" Wurmple shook off his pain and spun into Swallow, poisoning him.

The bird landed tummy-first on the ground.

"No fair, yourself, you made me feel bad." Yugi pouted.

"I thought you knew me by now, Yuge." The brunette winked as Wurmple wiggled his stubby hands as he giggled.

Yugi smiled. "We'll see. Swallow, use Quick Attack!" The Flying-type slammed his wings onto the ground to push himself up and in a flash knocked Wurmple into the ground.

"That's not good." Mikey acknowledged, tensing up.

As the battle went on, Joey and Shanice watched.

* * *

"My money's on Yuge." Joey said, grinning at the other trainer.

"I don't know, Joey. That Wurmple seems like the type to never give up." Shanice challenged.

Seto and Mokuba walked up to them.

"What's going on here?" The little boy asked.

"Mikey and Yugi are having a little battle." Shanice said.

"Yeah, an' we have money riding on it." The dirty blond smirked.

"Who do you want to win?" Mokuba asked him.

"Yugi," Joey answered.

"Well in that case, I hope Mikey wins." Seto added.

"Why am I not surprised?" Joey sighed in aggravation.

* * *

"Good job, Swallow. Now finish him off with another Wing Attack!" Yugi told his Pokémon. The Swellow honed in on Wurmple, but before he could make his mark, the red worm shone an omniscient blue light. Swallow stopped in front of him.

"What's happening?" Shanice and Joey asked.

"Wurmple's evolving." Seto clarified as he and the others marveled at the sight.

Wurmple's shape warped dramatically from an angle into an oval. When the light vanished, a round purplish cocoon stood in his place.

"What is THAT Pokémon?" Mokuba asked, blinking to help the new Pokémon come into his vision.

"Don't Wurmple usually evolve into Silcoon?" Yugi asked still not believing what happened.

"Actually, that's a Cascoon. Wurmple evolve depending on their IVs. They were believed to have evolved based on the time of day caught, but since he was caught in the afternoon, this has now been proven false." Seto explained to everyone.

Mikey shrieked. "Oh my god, this is the coolest thing ever!"

* * *

Not so far from the action, Phoebe and Sam were hiding behind a tree.

"Whoa! Wurmple evolved. Now it's a Cascoon." Phoebe pointed out.

"There she is." Sam sighed looking at Mikey hugging her cocoon Pokémon.

"Are you sure about this?" The middle Kaiba asked.

"Yes," Sam said before running to the group.

"Hey wait!" Phoebe followed.

The five trainers looked at him.

"Who are you?" Joey asked, sitting up from the bench he and Shanice sat.

"Sorry for intruding, my name is Sam – Samuel Crane." Sam introduced with a slight bow.

"Sam here is entering the contest." Phoebe mentioned, smiling.

Sam turned to Mikey. "Hello, Ms. Coppertino, remember me?"

"Yes I do." The green-eyed brunette walked up to him. "How's it going? Feels like forever."

"It has." Sam beamed a genuine smile. He looked at Yugi. "Your Swellow is very agile. You raised it well."

"Thanks." He smiled. "I'm Yugi Moto, nice to meet you Sam." The tri-colored hair teen held out his hand.

"A pleasure," replied Sam with a gentle tone as he softly held the shorter boy's hand.

"He's dreamy." Shanice whispered with a sigh.

Joey scoffed, "pretty boys."

Seto nodded in reluctant agreement.

Sam then faced Seto. "You must be Seto Kaiba."

"I am." He glared harshly at the other coordinator.

"I'm Joey Wheeler and this is Shanice Lewis." Joey patted the dark skinned girl next to him on the back.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Sam looked at Mokuba, "and who are you?"

"I'm Mokuba, the youngest and coolest Kaiba." The raven-haired preteen grinned.

Phoebe laughed. "That's our little bro." Tristan, Olivia, Eric, and Greendale finally arrived. "Now that everyone's here, I have an idea of where we should go." She declared.

"Where's that?" Tristan asked.

* * *

"Parque Del Retiro!" proposed Phoebe when the gang plus Sam reached their destination.

"This place is beautiful." Mokuba admired now holding Bulbasaur.

"It's so perfect for a romantic stroll." Olivia wrapped her arms around Tristan and smiled elatedly.

Tristan's face reddened a little as he rubbed his head.

"Hey guys, let's give all of our Pokémon some free time." Yugi suggested.

"Yeah!" everyone agreed.

"Herben, Cascoon, Eevee, playtime!" Mikey summoned her Pokémon as everyone else followed.

"Cindy, Swallow, Spot, Volt, Blazer, go!"

"Brutroot, Pidgey, Oddish, let's go!"

"You're on, Nina!"

"Time to play, Perap and Doduo!"

"Let us show them who's beautiful. Go, Eli and Suki!" Olivia threw two Pokéballs and one Pokémon resembled a flat heart-shaped, pink fish. It landed in Estanque Del Retiro – the huge water fountain.

"Vapor, Glacier, Ruby, Skylar!" Phoebe called on Ruby and her three shiny Pokémon. Skylar is her shiny Skarmory.

"Blue, Dragonite, Salamence!" Seto was the last to release his.

Greendale put down his Raticate as Blade ran away from Eric's side to play.

Sam watched as they split into small groups. "You all certainly have magnificent Pokémon."

Yugi and Kaiba glanced at each other holding their bronze and silver ball. They closed their eyes as their grip tightened.

* * *

The four bird Pokémon flew above the gang's heads. Olivia looked up at them.

"This city is so beautiful." The violet-eyed teen sighed blissfully.

"It pains me to say this," Tristan began as he placed his arms around his girlfriend, "but I am so glad we know Kaiba."

Olivia giggled and kissed him. Spot the Snubbull and Eli climbed on top of a sleeping Blazer the Torkoal's shell. Mokuba scurried over to take them down.

"You guys should be careful." The dog and elephant Pokémon laughed in his arms.

The two female dragons tend to Herben, Cindy, Brutroot, and Nina as they played. The two male dragons slept under a tree with Bulbasaur and Oddish buried in the dirt. Doduo pulled some apples out of the tree and gave Volt the Volbeat and Glacier one each. Raticate, Eevee, and Blade played tag with Vapor around the park with the purple Pokémon 'it'. Seto, Phoebe, and Shanice all sat on a bench doing their homework on their blue, purple, and black laptops. Joey and Yugi sat by the fountain.

Mikey looked at a statue of a dragon/wolf hybrid with a scythe protruding from the forehead and a thick tail with an arrowhead at the end. The entire thing was made of marble.

"That's amazing!" The brunette stared into its stony eyes.

"What is it?" Greendale asked.

"I don't know." Mikey continued examining it.

"It's El Ángel Caído – Satan, also known as the 'fallen angel'." Sam told them, appearing beside Mikey.

"Scary," both brunets grimaced, "but cool." Their faces brightened again.

Greendale looked at the European coordinator. "So, how do you two know each other?"

"I was just a small lad when my father traveled to the Neo region. His first stop was the war-ridden town of Ruby." Sam explained.

"You actually remember me?" Mikey suddenly asked.

"I could never forget a face like yours." He winked. Mikey laughed nervously.

Greendale's cell rang. "I have to take this." He bowed apologetically and walked over by a building to answer it.

Sam smiled. "So, Mikey, are you busy tonight?"

* * *

Joey looked at them from the fountain. However, his eyes were more fixed on Samuel.

"Something wrong?" asked Yugi.

"I don't trust Crane, Yuge." The blond replied with a glare.

* * *

"No, I'm not busy. Why?" Mikey finally responded.

"Wonderful," Sam beamed.

* * *

"I don't see anything wrong with him." Yugi acknowledged Joey's comment.

"Well I do. That guy is bad news." Joey crossed his arms.

"You should know. You're exactly like him." Seto added standing behind them.

"Stay out of this, rich boy!" Joey snapped as he clenched his fist.

"I do agree with you." Seto solemnly interjected with his gaze to the side.

"Seriously?" the brown-eyed blond blinked in confusion.

"How do you know him?" Yugi asked.

"I know most coordinators and Samuel Crane is Grant Monroe's half brother. He's also a fluent flirt." The dragon trainer stated with his eyes now on Sam and Mikey.

"Grant's half-brother?" Joey and Yugi looked at each other.

* * *

"Would you mind if we hung out tonight?" Sam continued.

"Well, how do you mean?" Mikey asked now feeling uncomfortable.

"Just to have a nice walk on the town tonight to celebrate the New Year," he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You mean like a date?" Mikey questioned before biting her lip.

Sam removed his hand. "I never said that, but sure if you want."

"Uh," the now flustered female looked around and noticed Yugi looking at her with worry in his eyes.

_I see what Joey and Kaiba mean now. _Yugi thought to himself.

Mikey looked back at the boy in front of her. "Can I have time to think about this?"

"Sure, no rush, just take your time." Sam smirked. "See you tonight." He then left.

* * *

"What happened?" Joey asked.

"Beats me," Seto shrugged.

Yugi suddenly grit his teeth in jealousy.

* * *

After Sam exited the park, Mikey ran over to Phoebe and Olivia who were now talking to each other.

"So, Phoebe, are you ready for tomorrow?" The love demon asked.

"I'm gonna take the time tonight to practice." Phoebe replied. She then felt a tug on her jacket. "Mikey," she looked at the other brunette on her knees and knew she was in trouble.

"I need help." She finally whispered, standing up straight.

"What happened?" Olivia wondered.

"What do you do when a guy asks you out on a date?" Mikey asked, bringing the two closer to her.

"Depends on the guy," noted Phoebe.

"Oh, who was it?" Olivia anxiously asked. "Was it Yugi?"

"Uh," Mikey began.

"Joey?" followed Phoebe.

"Well," the apprehensive brunette tried to let it out.

"Kaiba?" the pinkette edged with a grin.

"Why the hell would Seto-" Phoebe was cut off by Olivia.

"That would be funny." She snickered.

"Stop!" yelled Mikey now with a deep blush on her face. "None of the above," she sighed.

"Was it Samuel?" Phoebe finally asked. The questioned teen nodded. "Good, I'm glad he asked." The Kaiba sister grinned.

"What? Why?" Mikey was angry, but at the same time was dumbfounded.

"You see, I felt bad for the guy and when he said he knew you-"

"Phoebe!" the light brown haired teen grabbed her by the arms. "Why did you do that? How do you know he wasn't a complete stranger who said they knew me?" She calmed down and released her.

Phoebe frowned, "sorry Mike."

"I can't say 'no' now." Mikey looked down. "What do I do?" She then looked up in a flash. "Phoebs, I want you to come on this date with me."

"What?" Phoebe and Olivia gasped.

"With who?" asked Phoebe, solitarily.

Eric approached them. "Hey girls," he waved now standing next to his aunt.

Mikey smirked, "with Eric."

"What?" Phoebe shrieked in disbelief.

"What, what about me?" The raven-haired teen asked with his head to one side.

Olivia slowly backed away, pulling Eric aside as Phoebe grabbed Mikey.

"Are you freaking crazy? Seto will rip off his arms and legs if he finds out I'm on a date with HIM." The middle Kaiba frantically tried to get out of the situation.

"Uh, everything okay?" Eric wondered.

"I think I heard Tristan call my name. See ya guys." Olivia lied and ran away before the situation worsened.

The two brunettes looked at Eric.

"Heh, heh, what's up?" The French student asked with a nervous laugh.

"You and him with Sam and me," Mikey crossed her arms, "tonight."

"What are we doing?" The still blunt teen asked.

Phoebe sighed.

* * *

In her room, Mikey was getting ready for her 'date' with Sam. She put on a red-orange shirt and matching sweatpants. The shirt read 'FIRE POWER' and depicted an orange dragon with a flame tipped tail breathing fire on a bipedal mole Pokémon with flames on the back of the neck. The mammal was a pinkish color.

She went into the bathroom to work on her hair.

"Mikey," came Yugi's voice from the room.

"I'm in here." She projected from the washroom.

The Cyndaquil trainer walked toward the bathroom just as Mikey walked out of it. She had her long, brown hair up in bilateral ponytails held together with red clips.

"Where are you going?" Yugi asked not taking his eyes off her.

"I'm going out with Phoebe." She replied with a faint blush on her cheeks.

On cue, Phoebe entered the room in a casual purple dress and a single ponytail.

"Wow!" Yugi stared at her wide-eyed, blushing.

"Hi Yugi," she smiled and waved at him. She then looked at Mikey. "You're wearing THAT?"

"What'd you expect? I have never been on a date before and besides I hate dresses." The orange clad brunette said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" cut in Yugi surprised, "date?"

"I thought you knew." Mikey felt bad.

"He does now." Phoebe giggled. "It's a double date actually. She's going with Sam and I'm going with Eric." She beamed a fake smile. _Although I don't know why it had to be him I have to go with._

"Why Sam?" asked Yugi, discouraged. "I rather you go with someone like Kaiba. At least I know him."

Phoebe chuckled. "I wouldn't rather have that."She pulled Mikey's arm. "Come on, let's go."

"Hold on." Mikey opened a drawer by the bed and pulled out the Jewel of Bastérde, placing it over her head. "Yugi, can you do me a favor while I'm gone?"

"Sure," Yugi smiled half-heartedly.

The other teen pointed to the blue egg-in-case on the desk.

"Could you watch my egg?" Mikey flashed a smile at him.

The blond looked at the egg, then back at her.

"Of course, Mike."

"Thanks, Yuge." She hugged him, but before he could hug her back, she pulled away.

"Bye, Yugi." Phoebe gestured as she and Mikey left.

Yugi sighed and sat on the bed with his face in his hands. Yami appeared by his side.

"_What's wrong?_" He asked.

"You know what just happened?" Yugi asked, looking at the spirit. Yami nodded a reply. "Then why aren't you worried?"

"_I see nothing wrong with_-"

"We have to follow them." Yugi cut off his partner.

He ran for the door, but before he could open it, it opened from the other side practically smacking him in the face.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Seto asked.

Yugi growled. "Goddamn it, Kaiba, don't you know how to knock?"

"I didn't come here for you." The brunet sneered. "Where's Mikey?"

"That's why I'm in a hurry. She and Sam went on a double date with Phoebe and Eric, and I need to follow them." The impatient spiky-haired teen tried pushing passed Seto, but the taller boy held him back.

"What did you say about Phoebe? She's with that scoundrel Covollo?" Yugi calmed down and nodded. "I'm coming with you, but we need to be careful of Phoebe's future sight. She'll know we're following her."

"I thought we wanted to stop them?" Yugi asked confused.

Seto shook his head. "No, I have a plan." He looked away, "but how are we going to block Phoebe?" A golden light caused him to look back at Yugi.

"Perhaps I could help," Yami offered with a devious smile.

"Warn me next time you're going to do that. Come on!"

"Wait," Yami grabbed Mikey's egg and walked back to Seto. "Ok, now we can go."

The brunet rolled his eyes and ran off with Yami behind him.

* * *

A white taxi drove up to the front of a large museum called Museo del Prado. The two couples exited the vehicle.

Phoebe squealed. "Really Sam, Museo del Prado?"

The European nodded.

"Ok, can somebody tell me why we used a taxi when we could have had Dante drive us for free?" Mikey groaned next to Sam.

"We gave him the night off." Phoebe smiled. "Now come on, let's go!" She pulled a distracted Eric into the building.

_Did I do the right thing in setting those two up?_ Mikey thought, looking in their direction.

"Let's go Mikey." Sam held up his arm.

"Oh, right," the brunette entangled her arm with his and went with him into the museum.

* * *

After paying to get in, the four took a tour of the museum.

"This place is kinda nice." Eric said.

"This museum has paintings from all of Europe." Phoebe told him.

"Wow! That's neat." The jet-black haired teen smiled.

"There are also photos and paintings of Pokémon from all of the known regions." Sam added. "This has been since the beginning of the millennium."

"Cool!" exclaimed Mikey and Eric.

"Over here, we have the Spanish paintings. There are paintings of two of the best known artists: Goya and Velázquez." Sam described some of the Spanish and Johto Pokémon art that passed them by.

Mikey took a moment to look at a picture on the wall of three blue Pokémon. One, in the middle, resembled a blue cheetah with diamond white spots covering its body that was under a purple mane. The second one to the left was of a blue dragon, the normal version of Seto's Bludragon. The final Pokémon to the right was a blue phoenix with staggered, icy wings.

"What is this?" The amazed coordinator asked.

"That is **Las Bellezas de Azul**." Sam deciphered.

"What does that mean?" Mikey wondered with her eyes fixated on the cerulean creatures in the picture.

"The Blue Beauties," the other brunet said with an arm over her shoulder.

Mikey blushed, still looking forward.

* * *

"Are you sure this is where they went, Kaiba?" Yami asked as the two stood outside the museum.

"Phoebe's always saying how much she wants to come here, so yes." Seto replied with a serious look on his face.

"Cool, let's go." Yami started for the door.

"Hold on." Seto pulled him back. "We can't just walk in there. Phoebe will sense us."

"I told you, my Millennium Puzzle will shield us from her Wiccan magic." The spirit smirked.

Seto sighed.

* * *

"The Museo del Prado has the largest collection of Spanish paintings in the world." Phoebe announced with Eric by her side.

"What other kinds of paintings does it have?" The Sneasel trainer asked, looking at her.

"Oh, there's Romanesque, Gothic, some Renaissance, Italian, French, German, Dutch, and much more." Phoebe recited, grinning at her date.

"How do you know so much?" Eric asked, now looking at a Franco-Gothic painting known as **The** **Martyr** **Altarpiece**.

"Well, growing up, I've always been fascinated by anything and everything that has to do with art as well as music." Phoebe said looking at a Pokémon painting called **Warriors of Ransei**.

The couple walked over to a few more works of art.

"You and your brothers had a hard life, huh?" Eric suddenly asked. The boy refused to look her in the eye asking the question.

Phoebe pondered his question while looking at an Italo-Gothic painting: **The Mistress of Seven Demons**.

"Our parents died when we were younger than ten and we were placed in an orphanage due to our aunt and uncle being greedy snobs with our inheritance." The brunette explained. She turned over to a Pokémon pictured called the **Eons of Hoenn**.

"Your brother's very protective of you and Mokuba." Eric finally looked at her.

"I love my brothers very much." Phoebe closed her eyes and smiled. "They're my best friends."

* * *

"Where do you think they are?" Seto asked his partner-in-crime. No reply. "Yugi?" he looked at the tri-colored hair boy looking at a 16th century painting with Charles V on a horse.

"So," His magenta eyes widened. "Cool," the characters on the picture changed into him in an Egyptian garb riding on a white horse with a fiery mane.

Seto looked disgusted. "Are you for real?"

Yami shook off his fantasy. "What? Can't a guy imagine he was a king?"

"You, king?" the brunet broke into laughter.

"I'm a better Pokémon Trainer than you." Yami smirked.

"Hmph," Seto grunted as he walked over to some paintings.

* * *

Sam was looking at a Hispano-Flemish painting of **The Monk of Silos**. Mikey marveled at a Pokémon painting of **The Tower**.

"Hey, is that the Tin Tower of Johto?" Mikey asked Sam.

"No, that's the Brass Tower: the tower where Ho-Oh and Lugia once prospered." The male trainer told her. [17]

"I think it's cool that they allowed amazing pictures of Pokémon here." The Chikorita trainer said, looking at Sam.

"Mikey, how much do you love Pokémon?" Sam asked, brushing some hair away from her face.

Mikey blushed, but shook it off. "Pokémon mean a lot to me. They saved me from loneliness. The Neo Civil War had been over for a year when I received Herben."

"You love him?" Sam asked looking at her, endearingly.

The green-eyed teen held Herben's ball. "He's like a son to me." She smiled as the ball gleamed in the light.

* * *

Yami looked at an Italian art of **Cleansing of The Disciples **. Next to it, was a photo titled **Feline across Water** of the same cat Pokémon from the Blue Beauties.

"_That's Suicune._" Yugi told Yami from the puzzle.

"It's beautiful." The magenta-eyed teen looked more closely at the photo. "I wonder who took it."

* * *

Eric and Phoebe looked at some 17th and 18th century artwork as they talked more about their past.

"So what got you into Pokémon Contests?" Eric asked, strolling around the museum.

Phoebe turned to him and tried to catch up to him.

"My mother was a master coordinator and my father was a gym leader of Garnet City." The brunette stopped when the two were together.

"My grandparents were coordinators too." Eric smiled.

"Both of them?" asked Phoebe in astonishment. "I mean I knew Terry was, but Frank-"

"Yeah, he doesn't like to let people know. He's only entered one Grand Festival." Eric chuckled.

Phoebe grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's go look at some more art."

* * *

Yami walked over to Seto.

"Oh, there you are, Kaiba." The star-haired teen rushed to the other trainer's side.

"You seriously haven't put that thing down once, have you?" Seto asked, not taking his eyes off of a painting called **Beginning of Salvation**.

"I kind of like holding a baby. It makes me feel like a father." Yami held the case up to his face and rubbed it against his cheek. "Who's a good baby? Goochie goo!"He giggled with a childish grin.

"You see this picture, Yugi?" Seto directed the overly happy teen to a picture of **The Burning Tower**.

"Yeah, so?" he lowered the egg-in-case.

"If you don't stop creeping me out, I'm gonna burn your face." Seto threatened with a glare.

Yami laughed.

* * *

"**The Three Graces** and **The Three Graces – Pokémon**," Mikey read the title under a painting of three women and one of three fairy Pokémon of light colors.

"There are over 300 French paintings, 200 German and Dutch paintings, and several Flemish paintings." Sam explained while looking at a painting of **Original Ones** and **The Three Graces and the God**.

"There seems to be tons of Pokémon art from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh as well." Mikey noted. Herben jumped onto her shoulder.

"Be careful that no one sees him." Sam winked.

Mikey breathed in deeply as her hand suddenly slipped into Sam's.

Another endearing smile curled over his lips.

"You're cute." He pulled her close, his body softly caressing hers. Herben looked the most uncomfortable.

Just as they were about to touch lips, the tiny leaf Pokémon jumped onto Sam's head.

"Oh, hello there, Herben," the European gently removed the grass Pokémon and patted his leaf before returning him to Mikey.

Sam cleared his throat. "Anyways, our final attractions would have to be all the different sculptures."

The couple passed several statues of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and other figures of European mythology, as well as kings and queens throughout the centuries. There were even some of legendary Pokémon.

* * *

Meanwhile, Joey and the others walked the streets of Madrid. It was a little passed 11PM.

"Everybody know who they're gonna kiss tonight?" Joey asked with a cheesy grin. Brutroot rested on his head, legs gripped tightly around the blond's cranium.

"That's a dumb question." Tristan replied. He had his arm around his girlfriend. "Of course I do."

The pink haired teen giggled.

"I guess that leaves you, Shay." The dirty blond wrapped his arm around her.

"Sure, why not?" Shanice laughed.

* * *

"Hey, guys!" called Phoebe as she and Eric hurried to Mikey and Sam.

"What's going on?" Mikey asked with Herben in her arms.

"Are you crazy? You can't have a Pokémon out of its Pokéball in a place like this." Eric warned his aunt.

"Shh!" both Sam and Phoebe put their index fingers to their lips.

Mikey grinned. "So, what's next for our date?"

Phoebe looked at her watch. "Hey, it's almost midnight. We have to go to the Puente de Toledo. They have an amazing view of fireworks."

"Sounds like a plan." Eric voted.

"Let's go." Sam agreed. The four teens headed for the exit.

Seto noticed this nearby and yanked Yami by his arm.

"What the hell are you doing?" Yami asked as he was being dragged through the museum.

"Uh, duh, we're following them." The frantic CEO continued his stake out as Yami struggled to not drop the egg.

* * *

The couples and their followers made their way to the crowded bridge.

"Kaiba, I don't think this is a good idea." Yami admonished keeping the Pokémon embryo tightly against his chest.

"Where is she?" Seto scouted the area. "I hate New Year's Eve."

"Look!" Yami pointed out the couples, dead center of the monument.

"You're mine." The eldest Kaiba pulled out a Pokéball.

"Are you out of your mind? You can't battle someone here." The magenta-eyed trainer pleaded.

* * *

The countdown began.

10…

Eric looked at Phoebe.

9…

"You know what would make this date most memorable?" The coal black haired teen edged.

8…

"What would that be?" The middle Kaiba sibling asked. Her body was close to his due to the large crowd.

7…6…

Both teens leaned in closer, slowly closing their eyes.

5…4…

Next to the two, Sam placed his hand over Mikey's resting on the edge of the bridge.

3…2…

Mikey turned to look at him.

1…

Eric and Phoebe kissed softly.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" erupted throughout the streets of Madrid and the world, followed by the set off of fireworks.

On the other side of the Puente de Toledo, Seto looked on with mix of shock and betrayal plastered on his face. He gritted his teeth and tossed his Pokéball.

Eric and Phoebe pulled away, blushing madly in silence.

In the midst of the fireworks, an outburst of screams was heard.

"What the hell's going on?" Eric asked, rushing to Mikey and Sam with Phoebe close.

"Oh god, no," Phoebe gasped when she saw a familiar white dragon hovering above the bridge.

Eric growled, "Kaiba."

The Bludragon trainer walked up to the quartet with his sidekick by his side.

"Kaiba, don't do this." Yami begged of him.

Mikey noticed him with her egg. "What are you guys doing here?"

Seto grabbed Eric by the throat, almost choking him to death.

"Seto, stop!" pleaded Phoebe with clear tears in her eyes.

"Kaiba!" screamed Yami and Mikey.

"Drop him, rich boy!" hollered Joey with his hand on Seto's shoulder and another in a fist.

"Joey!" Mikey, Yami, and Phoebe were happy to see their friends.

"Or what?" scoffed the brunet.

"Or I'll-" The Turtwig stirred in his sleep and clamped his jaw over his master's head. "Ow!"

Seto rolled his eyes, "pathetic."

"Let him go, Kaiba."

The brunet turned to see Sam with a bird Pokémon covered in silver armor next to him. Tristan, Olivia, and Shanice also appeared with Perap, Eli, and Nina at their feet. The dragon trainer obeyed and dropped Eric, who proceeded to gasp and cough for air. Phoebe knelt by his side, but looked at her brother staring the other coordinator down.

"What do you want, punk?" The dragon trainer sneered. Blue descended behind him.

"I don't like lowlifes who pick on others." Sam clarified. "Right, Skarmory?" the bird Pokémon screeched.

"I just plan don't like you." Seto scowled at the opposing trainer.

Both Pokémon unfolded their wings and let out a cry.

_This is my fault._ Mikey thought to herself.

"Freeze, nobody move!" A voice yelled from across the bridge.

Joey swiftly held his hands up.

"Not you, moron," Tristan slapped his friend's hands down.

"Sorry, reflex," Joey nervously laughed.

The Pokémon Trainers looked at the three officers with guns held up, aiming at Seto and Sam.

"This is not happening." Eric whispered, still sore from the assault.

"Return your Pokémon at once!" The second policeman ordered.

"Seriously?" question Seto in annoyance.

The men cocked their weapons. "Do it now." One calmly demanded.

Both brunets held up their balls and recalled their Pokémon.

The police latched their weapons back onto their belts.

"Who are you, the Pokémon police?" Shanice asked still in shock.

"As a matter of fact," growls and snarls were heard behind the trainers. "We are."

Three Arcanine approached them.

"This is messed up." Eric stated, holding Phoebe in slight fear.

"There really are Pokémon police?" Tristan asked.

Yami smirked, making his way to the middle of the trainers and hounds.

"You make a move," the 1st officer began.

"And our dogs will burn you, kid," a second one finished.

Sam and Seto stood next to Mikey and Phoebe with Eric.

"I hate it when people abuse their power because they think they're above the law." Yami pondered with a pensive stare on the three legend Pokémon.

"What are you talking about?" A 3rd cop questioned. The three exchanged glances.

"Go ahead, take a crack at me. I dare you." The owner of the Millennium Puzzle grinned, a golden eye appearing on his forehead.

"He's nuts." Seto said. "We should just walk away and except the charges."

"He has a plan. I know it." Phoebe added.

"This kid's crazy, but I could use a little fun." The 2nd police officer challenged. "Arcanine, Flamethrower!"

"Don't! You'll get in serious trouble." The other men in uniform tried to suede their partner away from the order he made.

One of the fire Pokémon breathed orange flames at Yami. In a flash, the teen slid the egg-in-case back to its owner and used all of his strength to leap into the air.

"Where'd he go?" One of the Arcanine trainers asked, bewildered.

A whistle came from atop a street lamppost.

"How the hell did he get up there?" One of the officers asked, backing away.

"What the heck is on his forehead?" Another one followed pointing out the golden eye.

The other spectators were blown away by their friend's speed and stamina. It was almost as if, as Yami, Yugi was a superhuman.

"You abused your job, and for that, you must be punished." Yami hissed.

The canine Pokémon whimpered in apprehension.

"Yami..." Olivia frowned, knowing what was coming.

"MIND CRUSH!" bellowed the teen as his puzzle shone a lustrous, golden light which blinded everyone around the bridge.

* * *

Later in the night, Mikey was the first to awaken. She awoke in her bed at the hotel of Madrid. Herben slept beside her.

"Was that whole thing a dream?" The brunette grabbed the remote and put on the pre-recorded news after midnight.

One of the stories, in Spanish with English subtitles, told of three police officers saying there was a 'witch' who used magic on them. It seemed they were traumatized.

"What exactly was all that?" Mikey tried to reminisce what happened to her and her friends on the Puente de Toledo. She looked at the bed next to her and Yugi was sound asleep. Eric slept on the couch next to the television.

"Reach for the sky!" A voice cried from outside.

Mikey opened her window and saw Sam training with his Skarmory.

* * *

The armor bird Pokémon flew through the air like a rocket.

"Nice Agility," Mikey entered the scene as a surprised Sam looked at her.

"Isn't it passed your bedtime?" He asked, jokingly.

"What do you remember about tonight?" The Chikorita trainer asked.

"I remember everything up until the fireworks." Sam answered. Skarmory landed next to Mikey.

"Same here," the green-eyed brunette looked down at her clothes. They were the exact same ones she wore that night.

"Mikey," the Skarmory trainer tipped her chin to look into her eyes. "I still never got my kiss."

"Right," the novice coordinator slowly pulled away. "I think we should wait until after the contest." She teased, walking back to the hotel.

Sam smiled brightly. "I look forward to it. Goodnight," his flying Pokémon squawked, hovering above her.

"Goodnight, Sam, Skarmory." Mikey winked before turning in for the night.

* * *

In his room, Seto witnessed the view. He looked behind him at his sleeping siblings in their bed they shared.

"I will never allow ANYONE to take you away from me." Seto vowed. He unexpectedly smiled, covering Phoebe and Mokuba more with the sheet on the bed. "As for you," he glanced at the window. "I am not finished with you yet." It is unclear who he meant.

* * *

"Reach for the sky!" repeated Sam.

The Steel/Flying-type Pokémon soared up into the sky, while letting out a shrilling cry. More fireworks ignited in the air, echoing Skarmory's cries throughout the town.

The other teens awoke and looked out their windows.

"Finally, we get to enjoy some fireworks." Joey sighed.

"There were certainly come fireworks tonight on that bridge." Tristan deducted.

"I just wish we knew from what." Shanice added as everyone tried to remember the events on the bridge.

Greendale looked at the others, holding his Raticate.

* * *

Yugi and Mikey sat on chair by their window.

"So pretty," Mikey unknowingly placed her head on her friend's shoulder.

"Always," Yugi smiled as he held her. A transparent Yami watched the fireworks with them.

* * *

On top of the roof, Olivia sat looking over the city.

"This has already been a hectic new year." The love demon transformed before flying back into her window for the night.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N:** Another late one (it's already July, yet the chapter takes place in January) and like the previous chapter, I meant to have it up by the aforementioned holiday. However, due to work, this was not possible.

**A/N 2: **The ending was definately rushed aswell as random because I had no idea how to close the chapter and go into the next one. I wanted to also give Yami some character development so it just came to me randomly last night. Also, notice how almost all of these chapters have been two parts? (drama/adventure in part 1 and contest in part 2 while still being in that same city). That's how Contest Wars will be until the Grand Festival. With that, part 2 (the contest) will be up within a week hopefully. Hope you enjoyed.

* * *

[17] Tin Tower was changed to Brass Tower in Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver Versions. However, since the tower was unnamed in the original, the burned tower when unburned will be called Brass Tower.


	16. Snow Place Like Madrid

**A/N: **Finally! This chapter is complete. It's very long, in my opinion, and contains some fluffiness...You'll know what I mean when you get to it. Hopefully. Well enjoy! R&R

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon/spirit cries/speech

_italic_: thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

**bold**: song lyrics, places' names, and phone texts

* * *

**Snow Place Like Madrid**

* * *

**~Day 19~  
**

He stared at her from afar. She wore a long, vermillion Salsa dress and spun around at the mirrors before her. The dress was decorated with marigolds and red lacy material.

"What do you think, Vapor?" Phoebe asked her water Pokémon.

"_Beautiful,_" the Vaporeon wagged her aquatic tail happily.

"_Ditto,_" Skylar chirped.

"Thanks guys." Their master gave a huge grin. "This will raise our appeal points for sure."

"She's so pretty," Eric sighed as he continued to watch her from the clothing rack.

Vapor looked at him.

"What's wrong, girl?" Phoebe followed her eyes and met her black-haired watcher. "Oh, hello Eric," she greeted him.

"Uh, hey Phoebe," Eric rubbed the back of his head with a slight blush on his face.

"Were you here the whole time?" The middle Kaiba smirked.

"Well, um, I didn't mean to stalk you." The other teen shook his head. "Not that I WAS stalking you, just-"

Phoebe laughed at his nervous quirk. "It's okay. I'm not mad." She and her Pokémon walked past him to the dressing room.

She reappeared after about three minutes.

"Are you sure they allow Pokémon here?" Eric asked, changing the subject.

"Don't worry about that." Phoebe smiled. She paid for the dress and left with Eric right behind.

"So, are you busy today?" The raven-haired trainer asked, walking in front of her.

"Well, the contest is tonight, so I'll probably work on my appeals this afternoon." Phoebe replied. "Why?"

"I was thinking we could hang out. You know, like go to lunch together?" Eric suggested.

"Like a date?" the brunette sneered. Vapor and Skylar looked at her.

"Huh? No, just as friends," Eric affirmed, holding back a blush.

"Ha, it's okay, Eric. I'd love to go out with you." Phoebe winked.

The brown-eyed teen's mouth practically dropped to the floor. "Are you serious?"

"I am surprised, though. When Mikey set us up on that date last night, you seemed like you didn't want to go. " Eric stood there silent. "Tell you what," Phoebe chided. "I have to ask my brother. So-"

"He really will say no. I mean, he doesn't like the fact that I-" Eric interrupted her, but Phoebe had an idea.

"I never said I would listen to him. I'm just going to tell him the truth since I don't like lying to him."

"You really mean that?" Eric's eyes lit up.

Phoebe nodded. "I'll let you know in a half hour what I am going to do, Ok?" She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "See ya." She pulled away and headed for the hotel.

* * *

In the room he shared with Yugi and Mikey, Eric sat in front of the round mirror, staring at his reflection.

"Are you okay, Eric?" His aunt Mikey asked.

"Huh?" He turned to look at her and Yugi.

"You've been quiet since you came back from your walk. What's up?" Yugi asked.

"Ok, promise you two won't laugh or get mad at me." The Sneasel trainer pleaded. The two on the bed nodded. "I'm going out with Phoebe today. It's not a date, but I'm still nervous." Eric slanted his eyes after telling them his plans.

"Seriously?" Yugi asked, raising a brow.

"I think that's nice." Mikey reassured with a genuine smile.

"You think?" Her nephew looked back at her.

"I see where you're going with this, but you still have her brother to worry about." Yugi added still condescending.

"She says she isn't going to listen to him. She just doesn't like lying to him." Eric shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know why?"

"Well as we know, lying to Seto Kaiba gets him extremely angry." Yugi looked at Mikey.

"Don't look at me. I had no choice." The girl beside him defended.

"Besides that," Yugi turned his attention back towards Eric. "I think you – as Joey would put it – just scored."

He and Mikey burst into laughter. Eric blushed madly.

* * *

That dress is really beautiful, Phoebe." Mokuba said as the Salsa garment hovered before him.

"Thanks, Mokie. I thought I would do a dance with Vapor and Skylar." Phoebe smiled, the aforementioned Pokémon by her side. She then hung the dress on the bathroom door. "Well, I guess I should get going?"

"And where do you think you're going?" Seto asked from the bed. He was staring at the screen on his laptop.

"Out for a while," his sister replied, looking at him.

Seto closed his laptop and looked at her. "You were just out." He crossed his legs as he lay on the bed.

"Well," the flustered brunette pondered her words.

"_She's going on a date with Eric._" Vapor announced.

"She's what!?" The young CEO sat up, rapidly.

"Vapor, I was getting to that." She glared at her Pokémon, "and it's not a date." She turned back to her elder brother.

"I don't care what it is. You're not going!" The eldest Kaiba yelled now In front of his sister.

Phoebe scoffed. "What's wrong with him?"

Seto sighed. "Did you really just ask me that?" His voice softened as a hand was placed on Phoebe's shoulder.

"I get it. You don't like the Coppertino family, but that doesn't mean I can't. Besides, Eric is technically not a Coppertino." Phoebe snapped back, moving away from her aggressive sibling.

"He still has that tainted blood running through his veins." Seto hissed with hardened eyes.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'm leaving and don't even think of following me again." She left and slammed the door behind her.

Her brother stood by with a hurt look on his face.

* * *

Eric's phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked at it and saw a text from Phoebe. It read:

"**Meet me out front of the hotel. **

**XoxO, Phoebe.**"

"You have her number?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah, and it looks like she's on board." Eric smiled and returned his phone to his pocket, before exiting the room.

Mikey looked at Yugi. "Does Joey really say that?" She asked about a previous remark made.

"Beats me, Mike," the spiky-headed teen shrugged.

* * *

The two met in front of Hotel Regina. Phoebe wore a black shirt that said 'I love New York' with 'love' being in the shape of a Pokéball with a heart inscribed on the top.

"Hey, Phoebs," Eric greeted.

"Yo, so where to?" the excited brunette asked.

"I was thinking about a restaurant. I'm pretty hungry." The jet-black haired teen offered.

"I am too." Phoebe grabbed his hand. "Hey, let's go to **La Capilla de La Bolsa**, I heard they have some great Mediterranean food."

Eric nodded.

* * *

Mikey opened the door of her room to see Seto on the other side.

"What do you want, Kaiba?" Yugi asked, beside Mikey.

"Not you!" the blue-eyed coordinator snapped. "I need to talk to Mikey."

"Why me?" she asked, moving out of the way so he could enter the room.

"I need your help." Seto told Mikey, not looking at her or Yugi.

"Ha, with what?" Yugi rolled his eyes.

"Again, I'm not here for you." The now impatient CEO glared at him.

"What do you need my help with?" Mikey asked, softly.

"I suppose you already know that your dog of a nephew is out with Phoebe?" Seto asked as he trailed his finger over the room's walls.

"I do and I fully encouraged it." Mikey stated. She swallowed hard after revealing her thoughts to her enemy.

"Why?" Seto angrily grabbed her by the arm.

Yugi's eyes hardened.

"Because I see nothing wrong with those two hanging out, besides," She looked him in the eyes as if her words were meant to pierce through his heart. "It's only a date – if that – it's not like anybody's gonna get hurt."

Seto growled and released her. "Fine, then you're coming with me to break it up."

"No way!" Yugi cut in, but Mikey put up a hand to silence him.

"I really don't see the point. She'll never forgive you." The brunette frowned.

"Heh, that's why you're going to say it was your idea, which technically it was because you support this." Seto grabbed her arm again.

Mikey sighed.

* * *

At the restaurant, Eric and Phoebe sat at a booth by the windows.

"This was a great idea. Thanks for bringing me here, Eric." Phoebe said as she ate her salad.

"Anytime," Eric smiled and took a sip of his soda.

* * *

"This was the worst idea ever." Yugi moaned outside of the building. "How do you plan on getting inside without her knowing we're following her – again?"

Seto looked down at him. "You and Mikey will pay to get in, eat, and then tell them they can never see each other again."

"How?" Mikey asked with her egg in her arms.

"Tell Eric that Phoebe is bad for him because of all the things we did to Yugi last year." Seto suggested not taking his eyes off the couple inside.

"So, you're gonna sell your sister out?" Yugi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She'll forget about it later. Now just go!" The dragon trainer hollered.

* * *

"You want anything else?" Eric asked his date.

Phoebe nodded, "dessert!"

"Hey guys." A familiar voice greeted them.

"Oh, Yugi, what are you and Mikey doing here?" The middle Kaiba asked in confusion.

"We thought it would be nice to join you." Mikey smiled brightly.

"Plus we're hungry." Yugi added with a guilty look on his face.

"Um, sure, why not?" Phoebe moved aside so Mikey could sit next to her as Yugi sat next to Eric.

Yugi and Mikey ordered some sandwiches and soda, while Eric and Phoebe ate dessert.

* * *

Seto stood outside, holding Mikey's egg.

"When are you gonna hatch?" He grunted as he struggled to hold the heavy egg-in-case.

* * *

After lunch, the quartet left the restaurant.

"Eric, I need to tell you something?" Mikey motioned for him to follow her to the back of the building.

"Where are they going?" Phoebe asked Yugi.

The boy sighed. "Phoebs, your brother wanted us to follow you and tell Eric to get away from you by telling him the awful things you did to me last year." He explained with a look of utter guilt.

"I don't care what that tyrant says. He has nothing to do with me!" Eric yowled at Mikey about the issue.

"I know, but it's for your own good." His aunt told him in a heartbreaking tone.

"You better listen to her too." Seto entered the scene with an intense glare toward both teens.

"My egg!" Mikey took her embryo from the other coordinator.

"To hell with what YOU want, what about what Phoebe wants?" Eric protested in anger.

"Seto!" yelled Phoebe's voice not far from them.

The three looked at her and Yugi. Phoebe showed a look of disbelief in her eyes.

"Phoebe," her brother walked up to her.

"Did you really tell Yugi and Mikey to tell Eric that I'm horrible for him just because of my past?" The brunette asked, her blue eyes showing visible tears.

Eric looked at the accused, "seriously?"

"I never said that." Seto denied, feeling the evidence of hurt in his sister's words. He suddenly received a vicious slap to the face. The three spectators gasped in shock. Phoebe realized what she did and walked away from everyone back to the hotel.

"I'll get her." Yugi said, chasing after Phoebe. Eric followed.

Seto continued to look the other way with his bangs covering his eyes. Mikey stood in front of him.

"Are you okay?" The brunette asked, sincerely, raising a hand to touch his face. He turned to look at her before she could touch him.

"I'm fine." Seto finally replied in a melancholy tone.

"We better go after her." Mikey said, feeling guilty.

The other brunet shook his head. "I think we should let her go." He then walked away. "I'll see you at the hotel."

Mikey watched him sadly leave, "poor guy." She then thought, "Poor family."

* * *

"Yugi, I want to be alone." Phoebe cried from outside the hotel.

"I know that's what you want, but I don't think that's what you need." Yugi told her.

She turned to look at him. Eric was next to him.

"Forget your smartass brother. You have more important things to focus on." Eric stated, "Like the contest." Yugi nodded in agreement. "He'll eventually cool down, but YOU have to now." Eric continued.

Mikey rejoined the group.

"Are you alright, Phoebe?" She asked her friend.

The other coordinator nodded. "You guys are right. I'm just gonna go someplace to cool off and practice my appeals. I'll see you at the contest." She smiled halfheartedly and walked off.

"Where were you?" Eric suddenly asked his aunt.

"Making sure Kaiba was alright." Mikey replied walking up to the entrance.

"Why?" Yugi and Eric wondered in unison.

"Because I felt like it," she gave a quick glare. "Now come on, this egg is heavy."

The boys shrugged it off and followed her.

* * *

"It doesn't even feel like a new year." Eric sighed as he stared out the window.

"Give it time, man." Yugi smiled at him from the bed. He noticed Mikey sitting at the desk in silence. "You okay, Mike?"

"Just tired is all." She traced her finger over a notepad lying on the desktop next to her Pokémon egg.

"Mikey-" Yugi began to say, but was interrupted by the door opening.

"Happy New Years, everybody!" declared Joey upon entrance. He and Tristan were wearing flashy, bright colored outfits. Joey wore a green outfit and a matching top hat that read '2012'. Tristan wore a maroon outfit and a silver, plastic crown over his pointy brown hair which read the same thing. The blond blew into his green colored horn and swung a noise maker around.

"Wow!" Yugi and Eric exclaimed, staring at them wide-eyed.

Tristan tossed some leis around the three teens' neck. Eric received a blue one, while Mikey and Yugi got red ones.

"Looks like they just got lei'd." Joey remarked, bursting into laughter.

"Lame," Yugi and Eric smirked. Mikey giggled.

"What, I thought it was good." Joey pouted, crossing his arms.

"Anyways," Tristan stood in front of Joey. "What's up?"

"Well, long story short, Phoebe and Eric went on a date in which Kaiba didn't approve – of course – and he wanted Mikey and I to follow them and tell Eric that Phoebe is evil and wrong for him, which in turn ended in Kaiba receiving a huge smack in the face – literally – from Phoebe." Yugi explained and exhaled after his long explanation.

"Jesus, I'd hate to hear the long version." Tristan joked.

"Wait, Phoebe and Eric went on a date?" Joey paused for a moment, "and rich boy got whacked by his little sis?" Yugi, Eric, and Mikey nodded. "Shit, where the hell was I?" Joey growled.

"With me," Tristan replied with a smile.

"Oh right, with you, wonderful." Joey said with sarcasm.

"Say what, wise guy." His brown-haired best friend grabbed him by the shoulders. Joey copied the action against him.

The other three just let out sighs.

"Why must they argue?" Yugi groaned with his palm covering his face.

Seto entered the room. Joey and Tristan looked at him while in the same position.

"What the hell is this, a blond, jolly leprechaun making out with a spiky-haired fairy princess?" The blue-eyed teen asked with a smirk.

It suddenly occurred to the two that their faces were close to each other due to their arguing. They pulled away in disgust.

"Hell no!" the duo glared at each other.

"What is it, Kaiba?" Yugi asked in annoyance. Eric glared sharply at him.

"You must seriously be getting tired of me not being here for you." Seto rolled his eyes and entered further into the room. "I'm here for Mikey."

"Figures," both Tristan and Joey sneered at him.

"Quiet, tweedle-dumbasses!" snarled the dragon trainer in frustration, startling the two into holding onto one another. Yugi, Eric, and Mikey also flinched.

Yugi stood up. "What do you want with her, Kaiba?"

"It's her damn fault my sister hates me now and I demand she fix it, or else?" Seto glared at his spiky-haired rival.

"Demand?" Mikey stood up as well and returned his glare. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

Seto growled and prepared to slap her, but Yugi stood in front of her.

"You want another mark to match the one on your left side?" He threatened the dragon trainer. His voice was a little shaky like he sounded scared.

"I'll help you, Kaiba." Mikey finally conceded.

Everyone looked at her, but the one who was surprised the most was Seto Kaiba.

"What?" He blindly asked.

"However, I'm only doing this because Phoebe is my friend and I don't want your family bond to be broken." The brunette placed her hand on Yugi's shoulder. "It's okay, Yuge." The other nodded and walked to Eric's side.

"Anybody know where she might have gone?" Seto asked, calmly.

"She told us she was going to go practice her appeals. She didn't tell us where." Eric replied, still angry with him.

"Ok, we better gather Mokuba, Shanice, and the others if we want to get a better look." Yugi said. "Let's go." The group exited the room and out of the hotel building.

* * *

About ten minutes later, the extended gang arrived.

"What's the situation?" Shanice asked.

"Yeah, I was watching the New Year's parade." Olivia complained.

"We have an emergency." Yugi stated.

"Yeah, Kaiba's jack-assery hurt Phoebe and we have to find her so he can apologize." Mikey told them grinning at Seto who just scowled at her.

"Really, Seto?" asked Mokuba with a frown.

"Yes, Mokuba," he replied still giving Mikey the same dirty look.

"This is serious. We have to find her." Greendale panicked.

"We'll find her." Sam gave him a reassuring smile.

"Ok, let's split up and take different directions. Mikey, you come with me. Joey and Tristan can check the east; Shanice and Lovely can check the west; Mokuba and Kaiba check the north; and Eric, Sam, and Greendale can check the south." Yugi assigned. "We'll check around this block."

"Got it," said everyone else simultaneously.

* * *

After about a half hour

"Come on, Phoebs, where are you?" Eric asked aloud. "I wonder where Greendale and Sam went." A melody filled the air. "What's that?" The black-haired trainer walked closer to **Palacio de Cristal**.

In front of the glistening building made of crystal, Phoebe was dancing with Skylar her Skarmory and Vapor her Vaporeon. The Water-type of the group looked at him and let out a cry.

"What is it, girl?" Her trainer asked and looked at Eric. "Hey Eric," she ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"I was afraid I'd never find you." He blushed a little and hugged back.

"Why were you looking for me?" Phoebe asked, perplexed.

"The whole armada is looking for you." Eric said smiling.

"Everyone?" she looked down, "even Seto?"

"Especially him, it was his idea to look for you." The brown-eyed trainer grinned.

"Where are they?" Phoebe asked, Vapor and Skylar joining her.

"I can call Mikey and she can tell everyone to meet up with us?" He suggested, holding up his phone. Phoebe nodded.

* * *

Mikey and Yugi were at a pit stop, watching a Pokémon Battle between a blue swallow and a light brown pigeon.

"Weren't we looking for something?" Yugi asked.

Mikey stared at the battle when, suddenly, her phone vibrated in her pocket.

"This is Mikey?" She answered. "Ok, I'll gather everyone else up and meet you guys there." She hung up and looked at Yugi. "That was Eric. He's found Phoebe and wants us and everyone else to meet them at the **Corral de la Moreria**."

"Right, uh, let's go." Yugi snapped out of his thoughts and the two were off.

In the background the swallow, Tailow was victorious in the battle against the pigeon, Pidgey.

* * *

At the **Zoo Aquarium de la Casa**, Joey along with Shanice, Tristan, and Olivia were watching the animals.

"If you guys haven't found Phoebe, then why are you here?" Shanice asked, looking at some pandas.

"Well, uh…" Tristan trailed off as he watched some penguins catch the fish they were given.

"We just got sidetracked, Shay." Joey replied remorsefully, walking up to her from the statues of what appeared to be two legendary bird Pokémon. "Sorry about that." [18]

"Olivia?" Shanice tried to get her friend's attention, but she was distracted by the family of elephants before her. The dark skinned teen sighed.

Joey pulled out his ringing phone.

"This is Joey." He answered. Yugi's voice could be heard on the other side.

"Joey, grab the others and meet Mikey, Kaiba, and I at the Corral de la Moreria. Eric found Phoebe." The other explained the situation.

"Got it Yuge, over," he hung up. "Guys, Yugi wants us to meet the others at a place called Corral de la Moreria."

"Ok, let's go." Tristan agreed. He looked at Olivia who was now looking at some love flamingos. "Let's go, honey." He gently pulled her from under her arm.

* * *

At the destination

Music ended and Phoebe bowed along with her Pokémon. She had just finished practicing her appeal round in front of Eric.

"What did you think?" She asked with a sweet smile.

"That was sexy." Eric chuckled, "very good Salsa."

Phoebe giggled. Soon Yugi, Mikey, and Seto arrived.

"This is a really nice place." Mikey said. She noticed a radio. "Were you practicing?"

"I was." Phoebe answered. She looked at her brother, who glanced back at her.

"Kaiba, don't you have something to say?" Yugi edged his rival.

"Well," Seto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Phoebe," he reopened his eyes and smiled a little. "I'm sorry for earlier. I only wanted to protect you from people that might hurt you." He then placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "I shouldn't have done it that way. Again, I'm sorry."

Phoebe's face lit up with a cheesy smile before pulling her big brother into a loving embrace.

"Aww," Mikey brought her clasped hands up to her cheek. "That's beautiful."

"Eww," Eric shook his head, but laughed afterwards.

Yugi just smiled.

"I love you, Seto." Phoebe hugged her brother tighter.

Seto smiled and finally hugged her back.

"Love you too, Phoebs." The two parted. "Now, let's get ready for your contest."

Phoebe sneered, "roger that."

Joey and his group appeared.

"Hey, guys, what did we miss?" Tristan asked with his girlfriend beside him.

"Looks like everything worked out." Olivia smiled, suddenly wrapping her arms around her boyfriend.

"Aww, we missed it." Joey frowned.

"Good thing we did." Shanice stated, patting Joey on the back.

"Where's Mokuba?" Seto asked.

"Last time we checked, he was with Greendale and Sam." Tristan said still blushing as Olivia clung to him.

"I think I know where they're at." Yugi admonished while looking at his phone.

"Where?" Phoebe and Seto asked together.

Yugi held up his phone to everyone. The screen depicted a purple and brown background and on the top left there was a green silhouette of a Turtwig. The name of the site read 'Turtwitter' and the username said 'Lint Greendale (Ratman)' the status read " **at an awesome puppet show with Mokuba Kaiba (Eeveekid) and Samuel Crane (Skarmoryking).**" [19]

"Your friend has a Turtwitter?" Seto asked.

"Forget that. Let's go get Mokuba and the others." Phoebe said, leading the team to where the supposed puppet show was being held.

* * *

The group made it to Retiro Park and in the center was a huge blue box with a sea-themed border. Inside were the puppets of two different colored slug Pokémon. One of them was blue and the other pink. It was a Pokémon rendition of _Romeo & Juliet_, and front and center sat the three trainers they were looking for.

"Psst, Mokuba," Seto called. The pre-teen turned his head to see his brother, motioning him with his hand. "Get over here." He whispered sternly.

"Guys, we're wanted." Mokuba whispered to his companions.

"But this is the good part." Greendale whined softly.

"When Seto Kaiba wants something," Sam began as he turned his head, but also noticed the others. "I think it's an emergency." The brunet rephrased his sentence.

"Ok, let's go." Greendale sighed as he and the others stood up from their chairs.

"What's the big emergency?" Mokuba asked, upset.

"Contest time!" squealed Phoebe. Everyone watching the show looked at her. "Oh, sorry," she chuckled, nervously.

"Is everything cool with you and Kaiba?" Sam asked, trying to make the scene less awkward.

"Yup," Phoebe wrapped her arms around her older brother, who smirked at Sam.

"Where is the contest being held?" Joey asked.

"It's held at **Bernabeu Stadium**." Sam replied.

"Let's go!" Phoebe held up her fist. "I can't wait to win my second ribbon."

"You'd have to get passed me first." Sam deduced.

"Oh, right." Phoebe lowered her fist.

* * *

At the stadium

"What the- this is a football field." Joey mentioned upon entrance.

"Perfect, there will be plenty of space for my dancing and battles." Phoebe gloated with her hands on her hips.

"Phoebe, are you gonna be able to perform a Salsa here?" Eric asked noticing the grassy land they stood on.

"You know what I like most about sports' stadiums?" Joey asked Eric.

"What is it?" The brunet asked back.

"The concessions!" the dirty blond strode over to the concessions. "I hate the lines though."

"Joey has a point." Tristan clarified. "You guys find us seats and we'll get us something to eat while we wait for the show to start.

Greendale nodded. "Mokuba, Shanice, and I can find seats." He looked at the two. "Come on." They walked to the entrance to the stadium.

"We'll stay with Phoebe and Sam until the start." Mikey added, referring to herself, Yugi, Olivia, and Seto.

"I'll stay with Joey and Tristan." Eric concluded, standing in line with the duo.

The group of four nodded and headed for the locker rooms.

* * *

"So this is where all of the players go before and after games?" Olivia asked, examining the room.

"At least it doesn't smell like sweaty men." Phoebe noted. Mikey and Yugi laughed.

On the bench, Sam released his Skarmory and a Salamence.

"You have a Salamence?" Seto asked, looking over the dragon Pokémon.

"I do, and I suppose you have one as well?" Sam asked, friendly.

"Yes, but yours looks like it's been very well trained." Seto complimented. Sam smiled.

"So, what's your routine?" Yugi asked Phoebe.

"Well, I'm gonna be dancing a Sal- Oh shit!" Phoebe gasped. "My Salsa dress is still at the hotel."

Mokuba entered the room. "Phoebe, you have a special delivery." He handed her the red dress in a dry cleaning bag.

"Mokie!" exclaimed Phoebe with glee as she took the garment. "How did you get it?"

Dante appeared behind him. "Master Kaiba gave me a call and asked me if I could bring that to you, Miss Phoebe."

Seto smiled. "Thanks Dante."

Phoebe turned to her older brother and smiled with tears in her eyes. _Thanks __Seto_, she turned back to Dante. "Thanks, that'll be all."

Dante tipped his hat. "You're welcome." He patted Mokuba on the head and left.

"I'm gonna ask if he wants to watch the contest." Mokuba inferred.

"Good idea," Phoebe said. Mokuba ran after their driver.

"That's an amazing dress, Phoebe." Mikey sighed with sparkles in her eyes. "I love the color."

"Me too," Yugi added with a smile.

"I'm gonna get some bonus points for this." Phoebe gloated with a silly grin.

"Phoebe, can I ask you a question?" Olivia asked. The brunette nodded. "Can I have that dress when you're done using it? I think you're my size."

Phoebe laughed, "Of course, Lovely."

Sam walked up to her. "Good luck, Phoebe." He held out his hand.

"You too, Samuel," the other coordinator shook his hand.

* * *

The contest began.

"Beinvenido!" announced a young adult woman with orange pigtails, wearing a red and green cheerleading outfit with blue trimmings. "This is the Madrid Pokémon Contest, brought to you here live at Bernabeu Stadium." She waved her blue and red pompoms, getting cheers from the audience.

"Man, the MCs get hotter during every contest." Joey drooled. "I'm surprised the one in LA wasn't wearing a bikini."

Eric and Tristan laughed, causing Shanice to sigh. Dante, Mokuba and Greendale were with them.

"And here it is, folks, the comedic styles of Joey 'horn dog' Wheeler." Seto remarked, arriving with Mikey and Yugi.

"Rich boy," Joey slurred under his breath.

"Hope you are all having a wonderful, winter morning." The cheerleader-clad announcer said, shaking her pompoms some more. On cue, it began to snow.

The crowd went into an uproar.

"It's snowing!" exclaimed Shanice and Olivia.

"How'd she do dat?" Joey asked, looking up at the sky.

"Look," Yugi pointed up to the sky and noticed a red and white bird flying.

"That Delibird is the cause of the snow." Mokuba stated in awe. "I now wanna play in the snow."

"It's only light flurries, so it will take about an hour for it to reach half a foot." Seto noted.

The MC, known as Stacy, shivered. "Burr that's cold but let's get on with the show, I would like to introduce our judges."

"Hope everyone is having a remarkable new year." Sukizo said wearing a scarf.

"Yes, the snow here will make appeals look more beautiful." Contesta added with a parka on.

"Hope none of your grass, bug, or rock Pokémon get sick." The nurse said. She wore a heavier pair of scrubs with a black cross.

The Delibird landed on top of a flag post with the Madrid flag swaying in the cool breeze.

"First up, let's have Samuel Crane from none other than Madrid itself." Stacy introduced Sam.

The brunet walked out onto the field.

"I hope the snow doesn't harm you too much." He tossed the ball-in-case. "Salamence, go!" The blue dragon emerged with an orange explosion. This startled the audience.

"What the heck was that?" Joey asked, holding on to Tristan next to him.

"That was the cause of a burst seal." Seto told the frightened blond, with a grin.

Tristan pushed him off. "Get off!"

"Salamence, start off with Dragon Dance." Salamence thrust his head back and swayed side-to-side, flying up into the air. A red aura soon consumed him.

"Pretty!" The girls of the group gawked.

"He's good." Yugi commented.

Yami appeared. "_Yes, looks like Phoebe has some competition._"

"Dragon Pulse!" while in the air, Salamence regurgitated a green energy orb. It rose into the sky, toward the sun, and disintegrated when it collided with the cloud the snow came from. Tiny sparkles descended around the field.

"Smart moves may be weak during Cool Contests, but when used correctly, they could raise the scores." Seto elaborated.

"I repeat, he's good." Yugi rubbed the back of his head. Yami nodded.

"Zen Headbutt!" Salamence released another Dragon Pulse.

"What is he doing?" Tristan wondered.

The dragon's head glowed blue as he charged for the orb. When he made contact, the particles appeared again, ending the performance.

"That was a neat-o combination." Shanice said.

"Yes, using a power up move like Dragon Dance to give you more speed and power and then using a special move followed by a physical move brings out the true beauty of a Salamence." Greendale noted, raising his glasses.

"That's exactly what I wanted to do in the Vegas contest." Seto revealed, growing concern for Sam's ability.

The audience applauded.

"Wonderful performance, Samuel," Stacy waved her pompoms. "Am I right, guys?" She called to the spectators who agreed with a fanfare.

"He's formidable I'll give him that." Eric said, "But he's not going to defeat Phoebe."

Seto and Mokuba nodded in agreement.

* * *

The next preliminary rounds consisted of a yellow mouse, a Pikachu having a snowball fight with a beige bipedal cat, Meowth. The judges watched on, confused. Another group of performers were a singing plump, pink fairy, a Clefairy and a round pink Pokémon, Jigglypuff. This performance put everyone asleep. More coordinators followed with similar results.

* * *

"This is a contest where trainers can perform with two Pokémon?" Yugi asked Phoebe.

"It sure is. It's perfect because I plan on using Vapor and Skylar." Phoebe said placing a Pokéball in a case with a pink bubble seal.

"Good luck, Phoebster." Yugi winked at her.

"Ha, ha you're sweet. Thanks Yugi." The coordinator hugged her friend before heading to the locker room's doors. "See ya on stage."

"She's gonna do great." Seto said, appearing from behind some lockers.

"Yeah, she's a natural born performer." Yugi noted with a smile toward his rival.

Seto returned his smile. "We should go watch."

Yugi nodded and the two left the room.

* * *

"You think Phoebe's ready?" Mikey asked no one in particular.

"You bet." Joey said with confidence. He looked at Eric. "What are you doing, pal?"

Eric looked up from the project he was working on. "You'll see." He held up some different colored markers.

"Hey, did it start yet?" Yugi asked, sitting down next to Mikey.

"It's about to." The brunette said, noticing Stacy on stage.

"Good, we didn't miss anything." Seto added.

Stacy held up her pompoms. The snow proceeded to fall. The Delibird was taking a break at the same time as the coordinators and spectators.

"Alright, folks, for our next act please welcome Phoebe Jane Kaiba!" She cheered as Phoebe emerged on stage, wearing her red Salsa dress.

"Holy Toledo!" Joey and Eric gawked with their mouths wide open, tongues sticking out.

"Figures," Shanice scoffed.

Seto glared at them and Yugi noticed this.

"Hey, it's okay, Kaiba." Yugi pat his shoulder.

"Hmph," Seto looked back toward the stage.

Phoebe held up her two Pokéballs. One of the balls had a green lightning bolt seal.

"Are you all ready to see a show?" Phoebe asked through a headset.

"Yeah!" cheered the crowd of people.

Eric and Joey held up the sign Eric was working on. "Go, Phoebe!" The sign read 'Go Phoebe!' in purple marker surrounded by a rough drawing of his and Joey's cheering face in black and brown marker.

"What the fu-" Seto was about to say, but Yugi covered his mouth.

"Just let it go." He reassured the irritated dragon trainer.

"Let's party!" Phoebe tossed the balls and out emerged Vapor surrounded by pink bubbles and Skylar surrounded by striking green lightning. Both Pokémon sparkled due to their shiny nature. "Hit it!" Music played.

Phoebe began to dance. She swayed her body from side to side, and also showed off her curves by sinking inward. Vapor ran around her as Phoebe spun around her still Skarmory. Vapor released a Bubble attack, signaling Skylar to jump up and grab Phoebe's hands with his talons.

**Last night I dreamt of San Pedro  
Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song  
A young girl with eyes like the desert  
It all seems like yesterday, not far away**

Skylar lead his trainer along, popping the bubbles with his sharp wings. Phoebe pulled away, holding onto one of his talons with a single hand, before spinning back to the armored bird. Vapor jumped up and used Rain Dance to change the snow into rain.

**Tropical the island breeze  
All of nature, wild and free  
This is where I long to be  
La isla bonita**

Skylar let go and hovered above his trainer and Vapor and lit up, using Roost. Phoebe proceeded to dance with Vapor who stood on her hind legs. The two girls wiggled their chests and topped that off by raising their arms and curving them, before placing them back to their sides. Phoebe swayed some more, lowing her body to the snowy grass. Vapor leaped over her. Before, she could land, Vapor's back legs were grabbed by Phoebe who tossed her up into the air and landing on Skylar's back.

**I want to be where the sun warms the sky**_**  
**_**When it's time for siesta you can watch them go by  
Beautiful faces, no cares in this world  
Where girl loves a boy**

Skylar used Agility as Vapor released more bubbles. Skylar soar swiftly around his trainer, leaving a cyclone of bubbles around her. Phoebe broke out into a solo dance, shaking her hips and twirling around, placing her hands over the entirety of her body as she moved.

**and a boy loves a girl**

**ba la la la la la la**

**Tropical the island breeze  
All of nature, wild and free  
This is where I long to be  
La isla bonita**

Phoebe stopped dancing and Vapor and Skylar landed next to her on either side. She picked up her Vaporeon and spun her around as Skylar flapped his wings, forming a gust around the duo. After a phrase of the lyrics, Phoebe brought Vapor closer to her chest, then slid her under the brunette's legs to be caught by Skylar's talons. The song ended with Phoebe under Skylar holding Vapor with her arms raised.

**And when the samba played  
The sun would set so high  
Ring trough my ears and sting my eyes  
Your Spanish lullaby..ha! [20]  
**

The room exploded into applause and hollers.

"Wow! That was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life." Shanice admitted.

"That was beautiful!" Olivia sighed.

"What did you expect? My sister is a top-notch performer." Mokuba told them with a grin. The rest of the group was speechless.

_Damn, if Phoebe can do that, how will I ever stack up to that?_ Mikey thought to herself.

"My," Stacy walked up to Phoebe. "That was a marvelous, entertaining performance. Good job, Ms. Kaiba."

"Thank you, Stacy." Phoebe bowed along with her Pokémon.

The judges nodded at each other.

"Phoebe Kaiba, that performance was probably one of the best I've seen in my entire profession as a chairman." Contesta praised.

Phoebe squealed. "Thank you so much." Vapor jumped into her arms as Skylar descended to her side.

"Did you guys hear that?" Mokuba became excited.

"The whole room heard it Mokuba." Seto said with a smile.

"Go, Phoebe! Go!" chanted Joey and Eric.

* * *

"You were spectacular!" Mikey pulled Phoebe into a tight hug.

"Yeah, I'm glad you liked it, Mike." Phoebe smiled returning the hug.

"Phoebster!" Yugi ran up to her. "You were great." he high-fived her.

Phoebe smiled at her friends.

"I hope to battle you." Sam said standing behind her.

Phoebe looked at him, "You too, Sam."

An arm wrapped around her neck. "You've really impressed me." Seto said with a smile.

"Good job, babe." Eric hugged her, pushing Seto out of the way.

Seto scoffed, folding his arms. "This is messed up."

"Thanks, Eric." Phoebe kissed his cheek.

"I held up the sign too." Joey pouted.

"Oh, Joe," Phoebe giggled.

"Come on, Joey, we have to watch the next round." Shanice dragged him away.

Seto continued to glare at Eric, who stuck out his tongue at him.

* * *

The battle rounds commenced.

Phoebe battled the Pikachu and Meowth trainer. Vapor and Skylar used a combined Hydro Pump and Hyper Beam to blow the mammals away.

Sam won against a Hitmonlee and a Hitmonchan. Skarmory struck the punching Pokémon with a Sky Attack and Salamence dodged a Hi-Jump Kick which it turn recoiled against Hitmonlee.

* * *

"What an intense competition so far," Stacy said with her pompoms to her side. "The final battle will be a snow battle to the finish." In that moment everyone noticed the grass was covered in three inches of snow.

"This is not going to be a great environment for Skylar." Yugi said.

"Maybe Phoebe should use Glacier instead." Greendale added.

"Don't worry; I'm sure Phoebe has a plan." Joey reassured them.

"You said it, Joe." Eric agreed.

"Ready, Sammy?" asked Phoebe on one side of the stadium.

"Yes, you go first, Ms. Kaiba." Sam offered.

"Ok, Vapor and Skylar, let's go!" The purple and bronze Pokémon appeared with a cry and sparkle.

"Skarmory, Salamence, get to it!" The silver bird and blue dragon repeated their opponents' entrance, minus the sparkles, "Ladies first."

"Right, Vapor start off with Aurora Beam!" Vapor jumped over Skylar and released a rainbow colored, icy beam from her mouth toward her opponents.

"Salamence, Protect!" the dragon flew in front of his partner and glowed a green light, bouncing off the ice attack. Phoebe's meter read 90%.

"Nice move, but I have other plans. Skylar, use Feint!" Skylar's beak struck through the green barrier, causing Salamence to recoil back. Sam's meter went down to 92%

"You're smart, Phoebe." Sam complimented.

Eric and Joey held up their sign. "Go, Phoebe!"

"Vapor, use Bubblebeam!" The cat-fish hybrid jumped on her partner's back and spat out a barrage of bubbles.

"Thunder Fang!" Salamence's teeth were covered in electricity. The blue dragon chomped at the bubbles. Phoebe's bar decreased to 88%. "Now, Skarmory, use Drill Peck." The silver bird dove at Vapor and Skylar.

"Vapor, Water Pulse!" Vapor spat out a ball of water. It hit and stopped Skarmory in his place. Their meter read 88%.

However, Salamence appeared from behind Skylar and Vapor. "Look out, guys!" cried Phoebe. Before they could turn around, Salamence used Dragon Pulse. Her Pokémon landed in the snow, hard. Phoebe's bar showed 70%.

"That was a lethal attack." Tristan said, cringing a little from the sight of the impact.

"She'll recover." Mokuba reassured himself.

"Let's hope so." Yugi said.

Mikey and Seto focused hard on the battle.

"Salamence, Draco Meteor!" the sky turned dark.

"Oh no, not this move again," Joey held Eric, dropping the sign.

"What the hell, Joey?" Eric tried pushing him off.

"I know what Phoebe needs to do." Yugi whispered to himself.

Seto heard this and nodded. "You're right, Yugi."

The burning rocks fell from the sky, striking the interior of the field.

"Cool, a meteor shower!" Stacy looked on, mesmerized.

The meteors hit what appeared to be Vapor and Skylar in the snow.

"I win!" Sam announced.

The others looked on.

"There's just no way." Tristan said in shock.

"Phoebe!" cried Olivia and Shanice.

Mikey looked at Yugi and Seto, who were smiling. "What are you guys happy about?"

"Check out the screen." Yugi pointed to Phoebe's bar. It still read 70%. Sam's, however, read 73%.

"What happened?" Mikey asked.

"What's going on?" Sam was flabbergasted, "How come my bar decreased and not yours?"

Phoebe smirked. "Look, Sam." Vapor and Skylar popped out of the snow. They were flat on their tummies. "My Pokémon used the snow as a decoy. They build a quick snow figure as your Salamence was charging his attack. You should have utilized the true strength of double battles."

"This isn't good." Sam looked up at his Pokémon. "Skarmory, use Sky Attack!" Skarmory's body ignited as he headed for Vapor and Skylar.

"You too, Skylar," Phoebe commanded her Pokémon. The bronze bird copied his adversary's actions. "Vapor, Bubblebeam!" Vapor unleashed another barrage of bubbles at Salamence.

"Zen Headbutt!" called Sam. The blue dragon's head lit up. The bubbles bouncing off as the flying Pokémon moved closer.

As this happened, the two Skarmory collided. Both of the coordinators' meters decreasing as their Pokémon struggled. When Salamence struck Vapor, her body glowed green as she disappeared into the snow. The Skarmory finally pulled away.

"What happened to Vapor?" Shanice asked.

"She used Acid Armor." Eric told her. "It raises her defense and allows her to blend in with her surroundings if there's any form of water present. Since snow is water, it can camouflage."

Everyone looked at him after he finished his statement.

"Wow, you're smart." Seto said with a smirk.

"I know an insult, rich boy." Eric snapped back.

"Hey, that's my line." Joey gave him a high-five, "Way to go, partner."

"Why do I even bother?" the dragon trainer sighed.

Mikey and Yugi laughed.

"Your Vaporeon can't hide from me." Sam proceeded. "Salamence, Flamethrower! Skarmory, Steel Wing!" Salamence released a fire that melted the snow and Skarmory slapped Skylar with his glowing wing. Sam's bar read 55%, Phoebe's 30%.

"If I don't do something fast, Sam's gonna win." Phoebe told herself. Vapor looked at her, now exposed. Skylar struggled to his feet. "Fast, that's it!" Phoebe had a plan.

"Thunder Fang! Sky Attack!" The two flying Pokémon dove at their enemies.

"Skylar, Autotomize then Fury Attack! Vapor use Quick Attack!" Skylar shed skin and swiftly slammed his beak into his silver counterpart. He struck his weak spot, his red chest. Vapor dodged the electric attack and spun around the now dazed Salamence.

"What is she doing?" Sam asked in confusion. He then noticed his hurt Skarmory. "No, she distracted me." Skarmory landed on the ground, unconscious.

"Vapor, attack!" Vapor used Aurora Beam on Salamence, causing him to shiver and faint. Sam's picture had a huge red x over his Pokémon.

"No," The brunet frowned. "I lost."

"The winner, by a nose," Stacy held up her red pompom, "Phoebe Jane Kaiba!"

"Yes!" Her friends and family hurried out of their seats.

"We did it, guys." Phoebe hugged her injured, but victorious Pokémon.

"_Great thinking, Phoebs,_" purred Vapor.

"_Yes, a real champion_," Skylar cawed.

Sam recalled his Pokémon and walked up to Phoebe. "Congratulations, Phoebe." He held out his hand.

"You too, Sam, you almost won." Phoebe let go of her Pokémon, shook his hand and smiled.

"Phoebe!" Mokuba jumped on his sister, almost causing her to fall over.

"Whoa there, Ponyta," Phoebe hugged her brother. "Thanks, Mokie."

"Phoebe," Stacy walked up to her, holding a medium sized red ribbon with a triangular brooch. "This ribbon belongs to you."

Phoebe took the ribbon. "Thank you, Stacy." She held it up. "I got my second ribbon."

Her friends cheered.

"So, what's next on our fun expedition?" Joey asked, wrapping his arm around Phoebe.

"I don't know." Phoebe looked at her brother. "What do you think, Seto?"

Seto looked at his phone. "Well, there's not another contest for another week and that's one in Salt Lake City, Utah." He looked at everyone. "That means we can go back home and back to school."

"Aww," most of the group groaned.

"Great, I miss my mom and dad." Mikey jumped up and down. She then hugged Seto. "Thanks, Kaiba."

He looked at her, disturbed. "Why are you thanking me?"

"You're the one that controls this trip." Tristan noted.

"We do need to get back to school." Yugi agreed with Seto.

"Why Utah?" Eric asked.

Greendale looked at his phone then at Seto. "I think I know."

"What?" Seto gently pushed Mikey off him.

"That's close to Las Vegas." Mikey said, composing herself, as she answered her nephew's question.

Greendale held up the phone. "Look who's competing in that contest."

The others looked at the screen. It was a Turtwitter page and the status read: "**Can't wait for the Utah contest.**" The username was Drew (Roseking).

Seto growled, "so?"

"The revenge of Seto Kaiba," Yugi chuckled. "That should be the title of a movie."

All but Seto laughed, "Not funny."

"and not Utah," Joey sighed.

"What's wrong with Utah?" Shanice asked.

"Uh, well you know," he then shrugged it off, "Forget it."

"Alright guys," Phoebe announced, "Next stop, Utah."

"Yeah!" the band of friends cheered, all except Joey.

* * *

**To be continued...**

**Contest Scores: In this order: Contesta, Sukizo, and Nurse Joy  
**

**Phoebe (10, 10, 10 = 30)**

**Sam (10, 9.5, 10 = 29.5)**

* * *

**A/N: **Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I worked really, really hard on this. I also know the chapter takes place in early 2012 and it's really the end of 2012, but sorry, life was in the way. Anways, around 20 more chapters until the Grand Festival (WTF? really? Well, there are three coordinators and five ribbons each to win). Can't wait for that. Also, did you see it? Did you see the fluffiness? Just kidding. Thanks for reading.

[18] These Pokémon are Ho-Oh and Lugia.

[19] Turtwitter is an obvious form of Twitter.

[20] These lyrics were taken from a shorten version of "La Isla Bonita" © of Madonna and her label.**  
**


	17. Cacturne Around, Blue Eyes

**A/N:** Well, here's the latest chapter of Contest Wars. Now I must warn you, this **is **my first filler. I decided to make this one a filler because I wanted to make this the chapter when the crew gets to their destination and the action/contest proceeds next chapter. Enjoy! R&R

**Key: **"normal": normal speech

"_italic_": Pokemon/spirit cries/speech

_italic_: thinking

CAPS: emphasis on a word

**bold**: important places

* * *

**Cacturne Around, Blue Eyes**

* * *

The day started off like every other day. He went to school, interacted with his friends, and did as much of his school work as possible. However, today would be the day he receives his mid-semester grades, making the dean unhappy. During his free period, Joey Wheeler sat in the dean's office.

"Mr. Wheeler," sighed the dean as he held a folder. "You know why you're here, right?"

"Because I fail at life, Mr. Stevens," Joey replied. He sat with his arms crossed and a blank look on his face.

"No, no you don't, Joey." Mr. Stevens shook his head and placed the file in front of him. "You just fail at school."

Joey sighed and looked down, grimacing.

"Look," Mr. Stevens stood up. "I know things have been rough since your parents got divorced, but-"

"Can we not go there?" Joey rebuked, looking up at the dean.

"I just would like to know why you're failing." The staff member said.

"There's just a lot going on is all, geez." Joey rolled his eyes.

* * *

1st lunch period

Mikey sat at a table looking over notes for an upcoming test.

"The **War of 1812**," she read the title of the World History chapter. She looked down after reading the word 'war'. Herben was under the table eating some berries.

"Hey Mikey!" Yugi greeted. Mikey jumped up, knocking the book over and startling Herben.

"Oh, hey Yuge," she smiled at him before getting up to retrieve her book. As she placed her hand over it, Yugi unknowingly covered hers with his as he tried to pick it up before her.

"Uh," Yugi blushed. "Sorry," he moved his hand.

Mikey mirrored his expression. "That's okay." She stood up with the book in hand, hitting her head on the underside of the tabletop.

"Are you okay, Mikey?" Yugi knelt closer to her, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other held her forearm.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay." The brunette looked at him as she held the top of her head.

Yugi smiled at her and looked around at the other students in the room. They were all giving him a strange look.

"Is she okay?" asked a voice in a British accent. Yugi and Mikey looked up at a boy with long, white hair and brown eyes. He wore a simple light blue shirt and jeans.

"Hey Bakura," Yugi greeted, moving Mikey away from the table before helping her to her feet. "Yeah, she's okay."

Mikey continued to rub her head as she looked at the newcomer. "Who are you?"

"Mikey, this is one of my friends, Bakura." Yugi introduced. "His full name is Ryou Bakura."

"Can I call you Ryou?" Mikey asked, sweetly.

"Of course you can." Ryou gave her a cheery smile.

"Your accent is cute." Mikey complimented, giggling.

"Oh, thank you." Ryou blushed.

Yugi patted Mikey on her back and handed her, her book. "Why don't we sit down so the two of you could get more acquainted?"

The three teens sat down at the circular table.

* * *

"It's official, you're a moron." Seto said to Joey as the two walked down the hall.

"Why did we come back here?" The blond pouted. "We should've gone straight to Salt Lake."

"I wasn't getting expelled or suspended for anyone." Seto calmly remarked.

"Anyways, thanks for saving my ass back there. I could've been expelled because of my constant failing if it weren't for you." Joey stopped in his tracks and looked down.

Seto turned to him. "Look, I may dislike you, but you're not a COMPLETE failure."

Joey looked at him. "You're kidding?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah you're right. I am kidding." Seto smirked before walking off.

"Jackass," cussed Joey under his breath as he watched the brunet leave.

* * *

"Wow! That's quite the adventure, Yugi." Ryou commented, eating a sandwich.

"Yup and Kaiba's going to Utah later to sign up for his next contest." Yugi smiled brightly.

"It's so much fun." Mikey said happily through eating her hamburger.

Ryou chuckled, "nice table manners."

Mikey blushed and swallowed her food. Herben hopped onto the table.

"Is this Herben?" Ryou asked, gently picking the Pokémon up and holding him against his chest.

"Yes, he's my first Pokémon and my best friend." Mikey told him holding out her arms. Herben jumped out of Ryou's embrace and leapt into hers.

Ryou smiled then looked at Yugi. "By the way Yugi, I heard Joey was sent to the dean and might get expelled.

"What?" both Yugi and Mikey gasped.

* * *

That afternoon outside the front of the school, Joey waited for someone.

"Come on, Shay, I gotta get home before my dad does." The blond whined, looking at the students exit the building.

"Hey Joey," Yugi called with Mikey and Ryou by his side.

"What's up guys?" He noticed Ryou. "Hey man, where you been?"

"In school, you just don't notice me." Ryou grinned. "Besides, you and the others were on vacation."

"Oh right," Joey looked at Mikey. "I see you've met Ms. Coppertino here."

Ryou looked at her. "Yeah, she's cool."

"So what's this I hear about expulsion?" Yugi mentioned.

Joey sighed.

"Are there problems at home?" Ryou asked.

"Just-"

"I'm ready, Joey." Shanice cut in as she hugged him from behind.

"Well ain't you a sight for sore eyes. Now come on?" Joey held her hand as they walked to his Sedan.

"Bye guys, hi Bakura, bye Bakura." Shanice quickly chimed to her friends as Joey pulled her to the car.

Ryou smiled. "Bye Shanice."

"Come on, Yuge, we need to catch the bus home." Mikey noted. She wrapped her arms around Yugi's left arm.

Yugi blushed, "Right. See ya later Bakura."

"Bye Ryou." Mikey smiled and took Yugi with her to the bus stop.

As he watched them leave, Ryou experienced moderate chest pains. "What is that?" He wondered through grit teeth, clutching his chest through his shirt.

* * *

Joey drove up to Shanice's apartment.

Shanice undid her seatbelt. "Thanks for the ride, Joey. See ya later."

Joey gently grabbed her hand. "Shay, I can't drive you guys to Salt Lake."

"Why don't you want to come with us? It's gonna be fun." Shanice assured him.

"I know this may seem like a small reason, but my dad goes to Salt Lake on weekends with his girlfriend." Joey told her with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Speaking of your dad," Shanice pulled away and exited the vehicle. "You better get home before he does." Joey started his car. "I'll call you." Shanice added, frowning.

"Bye Shay." Joey smiled halfheartedly and drove off.

* * *

"Why did you ask the bus driver if he could drop you off here?" Yugi asked as he and Mikey walked up to Coppertino Industries.

"I wanted to see daddy before we go to Salt Lake tomorrow." Mikey replied in front of the entrance.

* * *

"You're leaving now?" Frank asked his corporate rival.

"I have to leave as soon as possible so I could register." Seto declared, sitting in a chair by Frank's desk.

Frank sighed as he leaned against his desk. "As much as it pains me to say this, I still need your help here."

"Heh," Seto stood up. "You'll be fine."

The office door opened. Mikey and Yugi entered. Seto and Frank looked at them.

"What are you doing here?" Seto asked in displeasure.

"That same question should be asked to you." Yugi said, crossing his arms.

"Daddy!" Mikey ran up to her father and hugged him. Herben emerged from his ball onto Frank's shoulder.

"_Chika!_" the grass Pokémon rubbed his head against the man's face.

"I didn't expect to see you here, sweetie." Frank smiled as he hugged his daughter.

"I just wanted to see you before tomorrow." Mikey looked over at Seto and Yugi who glared at each other. "I wanted to say goodbye since you work late."

Seto refocused his attention on the previous subject. "Right, I have to go." He grabbed his briefcase by the desk. "Francis, you can work fine without me. You have for almost a month now."

"Wait," Mikey hurried to his side. "Where are you going?" Herben stood by her feet.

"I'm going to Salt Lake." Seto revealed, walking out of the office. Mikey and Herben followed.

Yugi looked at Frank. "Is he really going to Utah now? I thought we were going tomorrow."

"He said he needs to register before the contest tomorrow." Frank said.

* * *

"You're not coming with me." Seto declared walking out of Coppertino Industries.

"I don't want you to go alone." Mikey sneered as she grabbed his arm to catch up.

"Let go!" Seto pulled away, "And why would I need you? You're not exactly an appropriate bodyguard." He walked away.

Mikey rolled her eyes and followed him.

* * *

After speaking with Frank, Yugi took a bus home.

"Hey Yugi," Phoebe waved him over. She was in front of the game shop with Shanice, Tristan, and Olivia.

"What's up guys?" Yugi looked around. "Where's Joey?"

"That's what we want to talk to you about." Tristan said looking at Shanice.

"You see, Yugi, I'm very worried about him." Shanice said with her hands clasped together by her waist.

"We tried to convince him to come to Utah with us, but no luck." Olivia shrugged.

"You guys want me to try?" Yugi offered, feeling uneasy.

"Try what?" Joey asked, stepping in between Shanice and Olivia.

"Guys, I just realized that I have to meet Seto after work." Phoebe waved. "See you guys tomorrow." She walked over to her car.

"Bye Phoebs," the others called.

Joey looked at everyone. "So what's goin' on?"

"Joey," Yugi took a deep breath then aimed his index finger at the blond. "I challenge you to a Pokémon Battle."

"Say what?" Joey asked, flabbergasted.

"If I win, you go to Salt Lake with us tomorrow. If you win, you stay." Yugi concluded his conditions and looked at his friends.

Joey stifled a laugh. "Are you serious, Yuge?"

"Joey, we want you to come with us." Shanice told him with worry in her eyes.

"Why?" Joey looked at her.

"We're friends, you moron." Tristan retorted.

Joey growled and pulled out a Pokéball. "I accept your challenge, Yuge."

"Brutroot! Cindy!" both trainers exclaimed. "Go!" They threw their Pokéballs and the respective Pokémon appeared.

"Do we even need to mention the type disadvantage Joey has?" Tristan asked.

"I would have chose Pidgey if I were him." Shanice sighed.

The two Pokémon stared each other down.

* * *

"If you're coming with me, don't you think you should tell your parents?" Seto asked Mikey after leaving KaibaCorp.

Mikey turned to see him exit the building. "Yes, you have to take me home first." Phoebe's car pulled up.

"Ready to go, Seto?" the middle Kaiba asked, cheerfully.

"You're going with him, Phoebe?" Mikey asked.

"See, I won't be alone." Seto smirked. "You can go home now."

"But-"

"Wait," Phoebe stepped in. "There's no reason why the three of us can't go."

"Yes there is." Seto growled.

"Don't be difficult, bro!" Phoebe yelled. Mikey flinched as Seto rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he walked over to his sister's car.

"Thanks, Phoebe." Mikey smiled.

"Heh, come on pal." Phoebe motioned her friend to follow her to the vehicle.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Frank asked, exiting Coppertino Industries.

"God I hate it that he's right across the street from me." Seto growled.

"Going to Utah with the Kaibas early," Mikey replied, her father now standing in front of her.

* * *

Razor sharp leaves spawned across the field. Cindy jumped over them and head butted her foe.

"Use another Razor Leaf, Brutroot." Joey called to his turtle Pokémon. Brutroot shook off his daze and swung his head forward, releasing a sharp leaf.

"Cindy, burn it with Flamethrower!" Yugi retaliated. The rodent's back ignited and orange flames were unleashed from her mouth, disintegrating the leaf.

"Brutroot, use Bite now!" Joey hollered. The Grass-type charged toward the Cyndaquil.

"Flame Wheel," Yugi ordered. Cindy rolled up into a ball of flames and struck Brutroot's jaw, causing him to spiral backwards unconscious.

"Brutroot," Joey knelt by his partner.

"Well that didn't take long." Tristan noted. Olivia elbowed his side. "Ow, Lovely," he glared at his girlfriend.

* * *

"Mikey, please rethink this." Her father pleaded. "You know how I feel about them."

"What's the difference between going today and going tomorrow?" Mikey interrogated.

"I just-" Frank began to explain, but Seto stepped in front of him.

"Listen, I don't like her coming with us anymore than you do." The dragon trainer deduced calmly. "However, you'll never hear the end of it if you deny her."

"Your brother confuses me." Mikey whispered to Phoebe.

"Maybe, but let's hope your dad says 'yes'." Phoebe grinned.

"She's not the type of person who keeps begging until she gets what she wants." Frank said.

Seto scoffed. "Of course, she's not me or you." He then smirked at his rival.

Frank looked at his daughter then back at Seto. "Mikey," he looked down.

"Yes daddy?" Mikey walked up to him and held his hand.

"You may go." He said, not looking at her.

"Thank you daddy!" Mikey hugged her father tightly. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Seto began to feel remorseful. Phoebe looked at him.

"You okay?" She softly asked.

Seto didn't answer her. "Francis, we have to go." He declared.

Frank looked at him. "I see." He looked at Mikey. "Be careful."

"I will." She cried silently as she continued to hug him.

"Phoebe," Seto turned to his sister. "Prepare the car."

"Right," Phoebe nodded and headed for her purple vehicle.

"Let's go." Seto gently pulled her by her elbows, forcing the trainer to let go.

"I'll be back soon." Mikey tearfully called as the two made their way to the car.

"You better," Frank said to himself. "I'll never forgive him if you don't."

* * *

"I told you guys, I am NOT going." Joey sat on Yugi's front step, "And that's final."

"But Joey," the others begged.

"Aw, is the little mutt afraid to go to Utah?" Seto asked close by.

The five turned to see him, Phoebe, and Mikey.

"Kaiba," Yugi frowned at the sight of his adversary.

"What do you want, rich boy?" Joey hissed, jumping up from the seat.

"I'm here to say goodbye to my mom before leaving for Utah." Mikey revealed in a melancholy tone.

Her friends gasped.

"Why are you going with him?" Yugi asked.

"Absolutely no reason than the fact that I want to go," Mikey replied with a sudden cocky tone. She walked across the street to her house.

"Mikey, hold on," Yugi followed her.

"What did you do to her?" Shanice asked.

"What are you talking about?" Seto asked, crossing his arms.

"She's acting snobby." Tristan said.

"Hey, she's her own person. I didn't brainwash her." Seto said, starting to get annoyed.

Yugi grabbed Mikey's arm. "Hey, what's going on?" He asked.

"With what?" Mikey looked at him. "All I'm doing is taking a six hour drive to Utah with some friends."

"Why them?" Yugi asked, still not letting her go. "You know how your parents feel about them."

"That's the point." Mikey pulled away and moved closer to her house.

Yugi ran in front of her. "What does that mean?"

"I want my parents to stop worrying about where I go, who I'm with, and to just start trusting me." Mikey said, looking away.

"Really, this is what this is about?" Yugi asked with an eyebrow raised.

Mikey sighed. "You don't get it. Ever since I was little, my parents always doubted my safety."

"Mike, they worry because they love you. I know because my mom and grandpa are the same way." Yugi smiled.

Mikey lowered her head. "I guess you're right."

The house's door opened and Teresa Coppertino stood before them.

"Sweetie, is everything okay?" She asked.

Mikey looked up at her mother. "Mom, I want to go to Salt Lake with the Kaibas today."

"I thought you were leaving tomorrow?" Terry asked. She looked over at the others.

"I know, but I feel like going now." Mikey frowned.

Her mother looked back at her. "Does your father know?"

Mikey nodded. "He said it was okay."

"Terry," Seto stood behind Mikey and Yugi.

"Man, you're sneaky." Yugi said, surprised to see Seto closer to him.

"Hello Seto dear," Terry smiled. "Are you going to register for the contest tonight?"

Seto nodded. "Yes, I don't want to miss much school, so I'm hoping this ordeal lasts only a day."

"I see." Terry said. "Just make sure Mikey's okay."

"She'll be alright with us, Mrs. C." Phoebe cut in.

Yugi looked at her as well. "Wow, you move fast too."

"Wait, does that mean you're okay with me going?" Mikey asked.

"Yes, just be careful." Terry hugged her daughter.

"I will mom." Mikey looked inside the house and saw Glameow. "Glammy!" the gray catty Pokémon jumped into her arms, "Take care girl."

"_Glameow,_" the Normal-type Pokémon mewed as she purred.

"Let's go, Copper-girl." Seto said walking to the car with his sister.

"Coming," Mikey handed Glameow to Terry. "Bye mommy. See you in about two days." She took one last look at the others then left.

"Well, we better prepare for tomorrow. I got homework to do." Tristan said. The others nodded and began walking to Joey's Sedan.

"Be safe." Terry called from the doorway.

"We will." The teens replied.

Seto watched them leave from Phoebe's Chevrolet convertible. After Terry retired to her home, he walked up to Yugi.

"Yugi, could you please do me a favor?" He asked, sincerely.

Joey glared at him. "Why should we-"

"Joey," Yugi held up his hand. "What is it, Kaiba?"

"Mokuba," Seto said. "Could you please make sure he arrives safely with you tomorrow?"

Joey and his friends exchanged glances.

"I will, Kaiba." Yugi replied, "But I'm doing it because Mokuba is my friend, not because YOU want me to do it."

"Very well," Seto entered the driver's seat of the car.

"You drive for a few hours and then I will, 'kay?" Phoebe offered.

Mikey sat in the back. Herben appeared on her lap, "Ready for a road trip?"

The Chikorita nodded.

"I just thought of something." Joey said. "If we take Mokuba, there won't be any room for one of us."

Olivia sighed. "I'll stay. Mokuba's needed to support Kaiba more than me."

"If Lovely stays, then so will I." Tristan said.

"I have an idea." Joey said.

"Now there's a first." Shanice laughed.

"Hey!" Joey retorted. "Anyways, Tristan can ride his motorcycle there."

"No, I can't ride it out of town." Tristan said. "Besides, it's my dad's not mine."

"Wait, so does that mean you're going, Joey?" Shanice asked.

"Nyeh?" Joey sighed. "I suppose I must."

"Alright!" Shanice and Olivia hugged him.

"We're gonna have fun, Joey." Yugi said.

"That still doesn't solve the capacity issue." Tristan whined.

"We have until tomorrow to solve that problem." Joey smirked.

Tristan sighed.

* * *

3 ½ hours later

Phoebe Kaiba's purple convertible stopped at a gas station.

"Damn, they want an arm and a leg for gas nowadays." Seto said, getting out of the car.

Phoebe looked at him from the window. Mikey was leaning against the door as she held Herben. The tiny leaf Pokémon looked at Phoebe.

"Where are we?" Mikey asked, groggy as she sat up.

"I think we're between the border of Arizona and Utah." Phoebe looked at the now opened window for street signs.

"We're not in Utah yet." Seto said, placing the hose on the gas pump.

"I'm hungry." Mikey said after yawning. Herben's stomach growled. "Herben is too."

"There's a café nearby." Phoebe said.

"Fine," Seto scoffed. "Let's go."

* * *

The night remained quiet for the group of teenage Pokémon Trainers. That would be entirely true, but not for Joey Wheeler. He was in the midst of havoc in an apartment he shared with his father.

"You leave for almost a month, come back for a week, and now you're leaving again!?" Joey's father yelled as he smoked a cigarette.

"Dad, since when do you care where I go?" Joey asked. He looked slightly beat up with bruises on his left cheek. A beer battle was thrown in his direction, causing him to flinch. The bottle, however, missed.

"I'm sick and tired of you missing school. You need to graduate so you can get your sorry self out of my sight." His father replied in an aggressive manner.

"Believe me; I want nothing more than to leave your lazy, gambling ass." Joey headed for his room.

Mr. Wheeler put out his cigarette and walked up to his son. "You don't talk to me like that you little shit." He grabbed Joey by the collar.

"I can see why mom left you all those years ago." Joey glared into the eyes of his buzzed father.

His father raised his fist, "You little- ah!" Brutroot clamped his backside, causing him to release Joey.

Joey ran for the front door. "Come on, Brutroot." The Turtwig let go and jumped onto his trainer's head. "Bye dad, see ya when I get back or maybe tomorrow."

"Get back here!" Mr. Wheeler bellowed, staggering after him.

"Bye!" Joey with Brutroot ran out of the apartment complex.

* * *

At Yugi's house, Cindy and Spot the Snubbull jumped up and down on the bed.

"How can I study for this History test if you two keep making noises?" Yugi asked, grasping his temples with his hands as he sat at his desk. The two Pokémon ceased their jumping.

"_You don't have to yell._" Yami appeared sitting on the bed.

Yugi sighed. "Sorry Yami, I just wish we could get on the road to Utah now." There was a knock at the door. Yami disappeared. "Come in."

Lyra Moto entered the room. She looked as if she just awoke. "Yugi, what are you still doing up and who are you talking to?"

Yugi looked at a nearby clock which read almost midnight. "It's the weekend, mom, and I'm talking to Cindy and Spot."

"You need to rest for your trip." Lyra yawned. "Anyway, your friend is downstairs."

"What?"

"Sorry Mrs. Moto, but I need to talk to him." Joey walked up behind her.

"Oh never mind, he's right here. I'll leave you two alone."

"Thanks ma'am." Joey smiled as Lyra left.

"Joey, what's wrong? What happened to you?" Yugi asked. Brutroot leapt onto the bed with Cindy and Spot.

"My asshole of a father," Joey sat on the bed. Yami reappeared beside him.

"More problems with him?" asked Yugi. He glanced at Yami who shook his head.

"Yugi, we're leaving for Utah first thing in the morning at six." Joey affirmed.

"What!?" exclaimed Yugi and Yami. Joey only heard Yugi.

"That's right, Yuge." Joey grabbed one of the pillows from Yugi's bed. "I'm staying here with you for the night." He tossed the pillow to the floor.

Yugi sighed, "Oh Joey."

"_I think it'll be cool if he sleeps over._" Yami said to Yugi. Cindy, Spot, and Brutroot sat next to him.

Yugi took a blanket out of his closet. "Here, sleep with this."

"Thanks Yuge." Joey smiled before taking the red and black checkered blanket.

* * *

2 hours later

The Chevrolet convertible finally arrived at its destination. Phoebe was the new driver and noticed the building with the giant Pokéball above the door.

"Finally," Phoebe sighed in relief. "Seto, Mikey we're here." She turned her head to look at the backseat and was shocked by what she saw. Her brother was sleeping as he sat in the backseat, while Mikey slept leaning against him.

Herben jumped on Seto's head, "_Chika, chika._"

"I'm not getting involved." Phoebe chuckled as she undid her seatbelt.

Seto opened his eyes as Herben bounced off Mikey's shoulder from Seto's head, landing on the floor. He looked to his lower right and saw Mikey sleeping against him. "Get off!" He yowled, pushing her off him.

"Ow!" Mikey lethargically rubbed her head after hitting the door. "What happened?"

"Where are we?" Seto asked.

"From the looks of that building, we're here." Phoebe opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle.

"Good," Seto turned to Mikey. "Get out!" He exited the vehicle.

Mikey sighed and looked at Herben. "I'm starting to regret this." The Grass-type frowned.

"Are they opened 24/7?" Phoebe asked.

"Yup, but it's first-come, first-served so that's why we're here early." Seto said.

"Herben, wait!" Mikey called, exiting the car after the Chikorita.

"What's gotten into him?" Seto asked, perplexed.

"Mikey, come back." Phoebe followed them.

"Girls," Seto rolled his eyes before entering the building.

The woman behind the counter jolted out of her seat when Seto entered the building.

"Oh my," the woman looked at her watch. "I didn't think anyone would come so late."

"Maybe you should tell the storeowner to have a closing time." Seto said, leaning against the counter.

"Hey, you're Seto Kaiba." The woman said with a slight blush on her face. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt." He looked down at the counter then looked back up at the employee, "Your nap, but I need to register for the contest this afternoon."

"Why so late? Couldn't you wait until the morn-"

"Look lady, I need time to practice my Pokémon's appeals in a familiar habitat." Seto leaned further across the countertop and moved the mouse to wake up the computer. He then looked the woman in her eyes, their faces inches apart. "Sign me up."

The front desk lady swallowed hard before sitting back down in her chair. "As you wish, Mr. Kaiba, and which Pokémon will you be entering?"

"Well-"

"Well if it isn't my friend, Kaiba." A familiar voice said from behind.

Seto turned to see Drew with a slightly older teenager with long, purple hair wearing a cactus themed jumpsuit and a green pointy hat with blue eyes.

He then looked back up front. "Sign my Seadra up. Now what do you want?" Seto asked Drew still facing forward.

"You don't own every building in the world." Drew walked up to him. "I'm helping my friend register. This is his first contest." They both looked at the purple-haired teen.

"He looks like a jester." Seto snickered.

"Hi," the newcomer admired the champion coordinator. "I'm Harley."

"No kidding," Seto raised an eyebrow. "I assume Drew is the joker of the duo?" He laughed. "What a clown."

"Oh you truly are as up front as they say you are, Mr. Kaiba." Harley said with a giddy grin. "Such pride has certainly earned you the championship titles."

"I see." Seto smirked. "You're a fan of mines."

"Actually I'm a fan of-"

"Seto, what's taking you so long?" Phoebe asked as she stood at the door with Mikey who was holding a bag with one hand and Herben wrapped in the other.

"Ms. Phoebe Kaiba," Harley hurried to her side.

"Uh, can I help you?" Phoebe asked, uncomfortably.

Harley gently grabbed her hand. "No, but you've certainly helped me."

"Say what?" Phoebe pulled away. "I don't even know you."

"Sorry about my friend Harley," Drew wrapped an arm around his waist.

"How do you two know each other?" Mikey asked.

Drew let go of Harley and looked at her. "Well, hello to you too, Copper-girl."

Seto glared at him. "What did you just call her?"

"Not you too," Mikey sighed.

"Ok, I'd hate to interrupt this awkward moment, but we need to go." Phoebe cut in. She grabbed both Mikey and Seto by their arm and left.

Drew looked at Harley. "You better hurry and register. I want to catch up to them.

Harley nodded. "Hey, what's with you and that Mikey chick?"

Drew smiled. "Just go."

* * *

Several minutes passed and the Kaibas and Mikey arrived at the **Solitude Mountain Resort**.

"This place is beautiful." Phoebe admired, exiting the car.

"What are we going to do here tomorrow?" Mikey asked, holding a sleeping Herben.

"Snow-related activities," Seto said.

"Oh, do we get to ice-skate?" Phoebe grew excited.

"I think there's a room for that." Seto rubbed his head.

"Hello there, contest-goers." Drew arrived with Harley.

"Did you follow us?" Seto asked, infuriated.

"Of course, where do you think Harley and I are staying?" Drew smirked.

"Oh hell no," Seto growled.

Harley walked up to Phoebe. "Hello, Ms. Kaiba, it would be a great honor if I could have a battle with you."

"Uh, Harley, it's really late and we're tired-" Phoebe began.

"You aren't scared. Are you?" Drew edged.

"She isn't." Seto cut in. "You will battle him, Phoebs."

Phoebe sighed, "Oh alright."

Harley grew excited. "Oh this is going to be fun." He took out a Pokéball.

"Ruby, go!" Phoebe tossed her ball and out appeared the black and red dragon with a roar.

"Cacturne, time to play," Harley whirled his ball and a green cactus-like scarecrow Pokémon emerged with a sinister look.

"Oh my god!" squealed Mikey. "That is such a cutie!"

"You have the strangest taste in Pokémon." Seto shook his head.

"Ruby, use Dragon Claw." The Dark-type raised his now glowing claw and lunged for Cacturne.

"Quickly, use Sucker Punch." Cacturne stood there and raised his quill-filled arm to stop the attack.

"No way!" gasped Phoebe.

"Now, push that hideous beast away." Cacturne thrust forward, causing Ruby to spiral backwards.

"What did you say?" Phoebe growled. "Will-O-Wisp!" Ruby flapped her dark wings, unleashing sparks of blue fire.

"Dodge it and use Faint Attack." Cacturne jumped out of the way, twirling in the air as if he were performing.

"So graceful," Mikey sighed as she clasped her hands to her face.

"Phoebe, do something." Seto said, clenching his fists.

"Got it, use Faint Attack as well." Both Dark-types swerved towards each other with their arms raised. They collided pushing the other back with both arms.

"Hang in there, Ruby." Phoebe cheered on her Pokémon.

"Cacturne, time for more drastic measures," Harley called. Cacturne grinned and kicked Ruby in the shin with his spiked knee.

"Hey, that's cheating." Phoebe growled.

"What? I didn't do anything." Harley snickered.

Drew walked up to Mikey and Seto. "What's up, guys?"

"I have nothing to say to you." Seto said, looking at the battle.

"This is a very close fight." Mikey said. Herben twitched in her arms.

"Ruby, Fire Blast!" Ruby rubbed her injured leg, and then breathed a powerful human-shaped flame.

"Growth, followed by Needle Arm!" Cacturne slammed his glowing green arm into the fire, putting it out.

"What? That's impossible!" Phoebe gasped.

"That weed should be singed." Seto said in awe and confusion.

"Wow!" Mikey looked on.

"Use Dragon Claw one more time." Ruby flew at Cacturne with her glowing claw.

"Needle Arm again," Cacturne snickered before running for his opponent. The two Dark-types proceeded to spar as if they were sword fighting. They both swiped their claws at each other with both of them avoiding the other repeatedly.

"Ruby is getting tired." Mikey noticed as the dragon breathed sporadically in between swipes.

"Phoebe, you have to finish this now before Ruby gets wiped out." Seto called.

"You're right. Ruby use Hell's Inferno!" Phoebe ordered.

"What's that?" Harley asked. Ruby took a deep breath, inhaling energy.

"Oh shit, Harley, do something." Drew said, remembering the move from the Las Vegas contest.

"Um, Cacturne, use Bullet Seed." Cacturne began to attack, but Ruby unleashed her giant red fire ball which struck the Grass-type before it could execute the attack.

"Ah, oh no!" groaned Harley as he held both sides of his face, "Cacturne!"

"Yeah!" Phoebe hugged her Pokémon. "Good job, Ruby."

Harley growled and recalled his Pokémon.

"Good battle, Harley," Phoebe walked up to him and held out her hand.

"Hmph, I don't need your false compliments." Harley scoffed and walked over to Drew. "Come on, pal, I need my beauty rest for the contest tomorrow."

"I sure as hell hope you're not going with that lame act tomorrow." Seto admonished with a serious tone.

"What did you say?" Harley glared harshly at him.

"I said, if you plan on winning, you're gonna have to change the way you fight. If you don't, the coordinators, including myself, will show you no mercy." Seto said.

"Kaiba, it's just a contest. What is this we're talking about mercy?" Mikey asked, feeling concerned with Seto's attitude.

"We'll see, Kaiba. Hmph!" Harley turned his head in disgust before walking off behind the building.

"See you guys tomorrow." Drew pushed some of his green locks away from his face before following Harley.

"Those two make the perfect couple. One's vain and the other's crazy." Seto crossed his arms. "They complete each other."

"Oh Seto," Phoebe wrapped her arms around her brother. "Let it go. You'll wipe the floor with both of them tomorrow."

Mikey yawned. "Can we go to sleep now? My arms are getting tired from holding Herben and this bag."

Phoebe smiled and released her brother. "Yeah, let's go. I'm beat." Ruby growled softly by her side.

"Yes, after all, I have to wake up early enough to practice." Seto walked toward the entrance.

"Does he ever sleep?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah, not as long as he should though," Phoebe sighed. "Let's go." The two girls followed.

* * *

Back in Las Vegas

"Hey, so you're at Yugi's?" Tristan asked from Joey's cell.

"Yup, but it's cool." Joey replied, sitting on the floor with Brutroot sleeping on the bed next to Cindy.

"Well, make sure you pick us up tomorrow. You ARE driving us." Tristan said.

"Got it, pal and goodnight," Joey ended the call and looked up at a sleeping Yugi. _Thanks for being a real friend, Yuge._ He thought before finally falling asleep.

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**A/N:** Hmm, I finally finished this. So happy I'm about halfway done with this story. (Recounts all of the chapters) Well maybe not really. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this...filler. I know it was short compared to normal which is usually 8000-10000 words and doesn't show much interesting things, but that's what a filler is suppose to be, right? RIGHT? Anyways again, I hope you guys also liked the addition of Bakura and don't worry, he'll appear next chapter as well. Yes, I kept his voicing the same as the 4kids dub but I don't care. I like him like that. So in conclusion, thanks for reading and stay tune for the next chapter.


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